By CIReport.ca

The church is in simple, Scandinavian style. For those who see it for the first time and are not familiar with the simplicity of that part of Europe, the church looks modest.

 The unity and the beauty of a homogeneous community, the effortlessness in communicating and the joy of being together and similar were evident.  People who came to pay their respects and to show solidarity with victims’ families and the Norwegian society were happy to meet each other, chat,  catch up or make new acquaintances.

This small community of Canadians of Norwegian stock gave the feeling of belonging, for a few hours, to a cohesive country.

 Among the guests were a handful of visible minorities (some of them arrived late) and also a woman wearing a black Muslim outfit. The few major TV stations present surrounded the Muslim woman to interview her.

 At the Norwegian Church and Cultural Centre in Lachine, people lined up to sign a book of condolences to be sent to the people of Norway.

Amir Khadir, MNA for Mercier, made a short appearance, to add his signature and exchange a few words with some of the guests.

Kathleen Weil, Quebec’s minister of culture and immigration, was also present.

White carnations were laid in front of the altar while the names of the victims were read one by one.

 The candlelight memorial ended with a koldtbord (the Norwegian words for the most popular Swedish term “smorgasbord”) that offered guests a large display of desserts, tuna sandwiches, coffee and soda.

 Rev. Matti Terho and the speakers emphasized that problems are not solved by violence.

Richard W. Pound, the Honorary Consul General of Norway in Montreal, mentioned that our countries are both peaceful countries and that Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Minister of Foreign Affairs John Baird paid their respect to the people of Norway by signing the book of condolences at the Embassy in Ottawa.

 The memorial united those present through hymns and a common hope that the appalling act of the July 22nd political massacre in Oslo will not be repeated.

More photographs here 

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Islam in Norway

Norway’s population is roughly 4.9 million.

Islam is the largest minority religion in Norway, which consist between 2.0% and 3.4% of the population. In 2007, government statistics registered 79,068 members of Islamic congregations in Norway, about 10% more than in 2006.

 56% lived in the counties of Oslo and Akershus.

 Scholarly estimates regarding the number of people of Islamic background in Norway vary between 120,000 (2005) and 163,000 (2009).

The vast majority have an immigrant background, with Norwegians of Pakistani descent being the most visible and well-known group. The Islamic community in Norway is highly diverse, but many mosques are organised in the umbrella organisation Islamic Council Norway (Islamsk Råd Norge).

The number of Muslims in Norway was first registered in official statistics in 1980, when it was given as 1006. These statistics are based on membership of a registered congregation, and it is most likely that the low number is due to the fact that few Muslims were members of a mosque. Historian of religion Kari Vogt estimates that 10% of Norwegian Muslims were members of a mosque in 1980, a proportion which had increased to 70% by 1998. Being a member of a mosque was an alien concept to many immigrants from Muslim countries. In Norway, it is necessary for the mosques to register their members, because government grants to religious congregations outside the state church are based on the number of registered members. The number of registered members of mosques increased to 80,838 in 2004, but have since dropped to 72,023 in 2006. Part of the reason for the drop could be a new methodology in the compilation of statistics.

The largest immigrant communities from Muslim countries in Norway are from Pakistan, Iraq and Somalia.

(From Wikipedia)

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