Five Muslim groups that broke out of Norway’s conflict-ridden Islamic Council (Islamsk Råd Norge, IRN) have formed a new organization called Muslim Dialogue Network Norway (MDN). The government minister in charge of culture, religion and sports welcomed the initiative.
“I’m glad they’ve established initiatives that will help keep dialogue on faith from stopping up,” Linda Hofstad Helleland told newspaper Klassekampen this week. That became an issue after the Islamic Council failed, in Helleland’s opinion, to promote dialogue and tolerance.
She hopes the Parliament will also support her efforts to provide financial support for the new initiative. The new network was formed by some of Norway’s largest Muslim groups that left the Islamic Council including the Islamic Fellowship Bosnia og Hercegovina, the Islamic Cultural Centre, the Islamic Federation (Rabita), Centre Rahma and the Albania Islamic Cultural Center.
newsinenglish.no staff
