Norway's Labor Party has proposed a mandatory course in Norwegian language and culture for those who intend to preach religion after Islamic Council Norway's spokesman Zahid Mukhtar refused a clear repudiation of the murder of Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh.
Zahid Mukhtar raised tensions by saying he "understood" why Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh had been killed after making a film criticizing Islam's treatment of women.
Islamic Council Norway (IRN) welcomes the proposal. The group has supported similar ideas before and expressed hope that this time authorities would back the idea up.
"We have long wished that the imams (Muslim spiritual leaders) who come to Norway learn Norwegian and gain knowledge about Norwegian society in the course of their first year. It is extremely important when one is to communicate with the young. But we see again and again that politicians come with such proposals without realizing them," said deputy IRN leader Imran Mushtaq.
Mushtaq said authorities must improve Norwegian education for all new arrivals, and Hafiz Mehboob ur-Rehman, imam at the Islamic Cultural Center, agrees.
"I want to speak the language as well as most Norwegians but it isn't easy because I used up my education quota before I learned the language well enough," ur-Rehman said. "It is important to understand the language of the society one lives in. I am ready to start a Norwegian course today if I get more hours," the imam said.
Labor Party leader Jens Stoltenberg said that Muslim representatives damage the fight against fear of foreigners when they create doubts about van Gogh's death.
"There are limits to our tolerance. Our society is built on values that apply regardless of religious faith," Stoltenberg said, and added that he was not afraid to give the impression of following in the wake of the controversial Progress Party.
Stoltenberg said that Progress Party leader Carl I. Hagen was intelligent enough to balance his criticism of Islam without falling on the side of racism, but that Hagen "builds walls where we build bridges".
Stoltenberg said that the integration of immigrants was the Labor Party's new challenge, after having helped the working class and women.