– There is only one God
Similarities between Christianity and Islam, the hijab debate and the alleged “sneak-Islamification” have been discussed in the Chapel at Singsakerbakken.
– We believe in the same God. There is only one God, so it is natural that we all believe in the same one. We call him God, Allah or something else, says the vicar in Bakklandet congregation Knut Kittelsaa and Matri Abroud, leader of The Muslim Society in Trondheim.
In front of a small but committed group of listeners, they spoke about their experiences of dialogue between representatives from the two religions, of why dialogue is necessary and they told of their collaboration and the joint projects that have emerged because of this.
Since 2003 six people from the Church and the Mosque in Trondheim have met to converse together under the name Religion dialogical forum, with means of getting to understand each other. This is done by discussing issues of common interest.
Discrimination at work, freedom of speech, blasphemy, hijab at school and in the police and contrasts due to race, culture and religion are all topics that have been discussed and debated.
The Muslim leader Abroud told us that he thinks the dialogue process was hard at first, but that it after a while became clear how important it was to maintain it.
– When you have been in dialogue, you can understand things that you have not understood earlier. Through dialogue we learn from each other and get to understand one another better, he pointed out.
The dialogue group has naturally also had conversations of issues around the big hijab debate. Kittelsaa and Abroud were both clear on the fact that to wear a hijab should be a voluntary thing to do.
– There must be room for the hijab. Those who want to wear it must be allowed to do so, and those who do not want to must be allowed not to, said Kittelsaa.
When it came to hijab in the police, they did not agree. But since the national debate ended before it really begun, they decided to look upon it as a discussion they could not finish.
Both Kittelsaa and Abroud talked of FrP (Norwegian Progress Party) and Siv Jensen’s statements of “sneak-Islamification” in Norway. They both see the political party as a growing problem for the relation between ethnic Norwegians and immigrants, and as a problem for the dialogue between Christians and Muslims. They are both clear on the fact that there is no such thing as “sneak-Islamification”.
– What FrP calls “sneak-Islamification” has nothing to do with Islam. The statement is nothing but a desperate try to create problems where there are none, said the vicar.
Abroud told us that this has been discussed in the Mosque as well. He thinks that FrP takes part in creating unnecessary contrasts and a society with more xenophobia and conflicts.
– Siv Jensen’s statement is nothing but a provocation that creates a ground for problems that did not exist earlier. It has no truth in it, but how can we defend ourselves, Abroud asks.
At the next meeting in The Student Christian Movement in Trondheim, there will be dialogues with Catholic students. The meeting takes place Sunday, April 19.
