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Document #2111935
USDOS – US Department of State (Author)
The constitution prohibits religious discrimination and protects the right to choose, practice, or change one’s faith or life stance (belief in a nonreligious philosophy). It declares the Church of Norway as the country’s established church.
In April, the Office of the County Governor of Oslo and Viken completed its deregistration of the Jehovah’s Witnesses as a religious group, removing the group’s eligibility for state religious grants and its ability to conduct state-recognized marriages for the year. The government continued to implement its action plans to counter antisemitism and anti-Muslim sentiment, providing financial support for efforts including teacher training, police hate crime reporting, and interreligious dialogue. Police announced an elevated threat against Jewish and Israel-related targets due to Hamas’s October 7 terrorist attacks on Israel and Israel’s response. Jewish community leaders filed several reports with police of antisemitic harassment and of violent threats and behavior, although they perceived inadequate police focus on investigations of the allegations. The government continued funding the Church of Norway. Registered religious and life-stance communities could apply for financial support from the government, and the government paid prorated subsidies to 740 such organizations during the year. A law, passed in June and to be effective in August 2024, would ban religious activity in schools, such as attending school-organized church services, although students could apply for an exemption from the ban to voluntarily participate in religious activities in school. The government also funded interfaith and dialogue groups, including The Council for Religious and Life Stance Communities in Norway (STL), the Christian Council, the Buddhist Council, and the Muslim Dialogue Network (MDN) to promote dialogue and tolerance. In July, the Ministry of Children and Families published proposed updates to law, including implementation procedures to enforce minimum 40-percent gender (male and female) representation in the administrative and governing bodies of religious groups, in addition to updates to membership requirements for religious groups to access state religious grants and to the ministry’s basis for refusing grants. Religious groups raised concerns that the changes could target specific groups, affect their registration, and reduce the amount of received state subsidies. In December, parliament passed a law banning sexual orientation conversion therapy practices over the objections of certain religious groups that said the law would restrict religious freedom.
The Holocaust Center, the Jewish Community of Oslo (DMT), the Norwegian Palestinian Committee (PKN), the Jewish Museum of Oslo, and police all reported a significant increase in religiously motivated hate speech following the October 7 Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel and Israel’s response. According to DMT and the Holocaust Center, growing antisemitic rhetoric had caused Jewish citizens to hide their identity to avoid threats or harassment. DMT reported a Jewish family’s mezuzah was torn off the entrance to their home, and a secondary school student was threatened that his house would be bombed because his family was Jewish. Organizations, including Stop the Islamization of Norway (SIAN), Human Rights Service, and Document.no, continued to post anti-Muslim articles online or in print media. During the year, SIAN held rallies in different cities that received widespread media attention and frequently attracted counter-protesters.
The Ambassador and other U.S. embassy officials met with the Prime Minister, Foreign Minister, and other senior leaders to discuss the Israel-Hamas conflict and antisemitism. Embassy officials met the Ministry of Children and Families and the county governor of Oslo and Viken to discuss the Jehovah’s Witnesses case of deregistration. They also met with officials from the Ministry of Justice and Public Security and the Equality and Antidiscrimination Ombud to discuss efforts to track, investigate, and prosecute religiously based hate crimes. The Ambassador and other embassy officials met with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) chair’s personal representative on antisemitism and engaged a wide range of religious and civil society groups to discuss religious freedom, integration of minority groups, and efforts to promote tolerance of all religious groups, as well as to hear their concerns regarding discrimination, hate speech, and perceived government favoritism for the Church of Norway. The embassy routinely used social media to share messages of religious freedom and tolerance, and to highlight religious holidays and events.
The U.S. government estimates the total population at 5.5 million (midyear 2023). According to Statistics Norway, the official government statistics office, 63.7 percent of the population (midyear 2023) belongs to the Church of Norway, an evangelical Lutheran denomination, a decline of 4.9 percentage points over the previous three years.
Statistics Norway, which assesses membership in religious groups using criteria based on registration, age, and attendance, reports registered membership in religious and life-stance communities other than the Church of Norway is approximately 13 percent of the population; 6.8 percent belong to other Christian denominations, of which the Roman Catholic Church is the largest, at 3 percent, and 3.3 percent is Muslim. The Norwegian Uyghur Committee estimates there are 5,000 Uyghur Muslims. There are approximately 22,200 Buddhists, 13,100 Hindus, 4,300 Sikhs, and 755 Jews registered in the country. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Church of Jesus Christ) has approximately 4,600 members. According to Statistics Norway, approximately 2 percent of the population participates in life-stance organizations. The Norwegian Humanist Association reports approximately 148,000 registered members, making it the largest life-stance organization in the country. The Humanist Association reports 22 percent of the population identifies as religiously unaffiliated.
Immigrants, whom Statistics Norway defines as those born outside the country and their children, even if born in in the country, comprise the majority of members of religious groups outside the Church of Norway. Immigration from the predominantly Catholic countries of Poland, Lithuania, and the Philippines has increased the number of Catholics in the country, while immigration from countries including Syria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Pakistan, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Somalia has increased the size of the Muslim community. Approximately 80,000 Ukrainian refugees had arrived in the country by year’s end, increasing the membership of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Catholics and Muslims generally have greater representation in cities than in rural areas. Approximately 34 percent of Oslo’s population are immigrants, as defined by Statistics Norway. Muslims are located throughout the country but are mainly concentrated in the Oslo region. Most of the Jewish community resides in or near the cities of Oslo and Trondheim.
The constitution states “all individuals shall have the right to free exercise of religion, and all religious and philosophical communities shall be supported on equal terms.” The constitution also states, “The King shall at all times profess the Evangelical-Lutheran religion,” national values “will remain our Christian and humanistic heritage,” and “The Church of Norway shall remain the country’s established church and be supported by the state.” The law further specifies the right of individuals to choose or change their faith or life-stance. Any person older than 15 has the right to join or leave a religious or life-stance community. Parents have the right to decide their child’s faith or life-stance community before age 15, but they must take into consideration the views of the child once they reach the age of seven and give those views priority once they reach age 12.
An equality and antidiscrimination act, which is enforced, specifies penalties, including a fine or imprisonment for up to six months, for discrimination based on faith or life-stance, or for expressions of disrespect for religious believers or members of religious groups. Cases under the act are processed by the Antidiscrimination Tribunal and the courts.
By law, the national government and local municipalities provide direct financial support to the Church of Norway. The national government provides an annual block grant that covers the cost of salaries, benefits, and pension plans of church employees. The national government may provide additional support for other projects. By law, localities provide partial funding for the maintenance of church properties, such as Church of Norway buildings and cemeteries, which other religious communities are required to fund on their own.
All registered faith and life-stance organizations are eligible to apply for financial support from the government, as outlined by the Religious Communities Act. The government pays prorated subsidies to 740 such organizations based on their current year membership when compared with membership in the Church of Norway.
According to the Religious Communities Act, religious and life-stance communities with at least 50 registered members may apply for state subsidies. Faith and life-stance organizations must provide annual reports detailing activities, opportunities for children and youth, the use of state subsidies, marital law administration, and minimum 40-percent gender (male and female) representation in the administrative and governing bodies of religious groups, as well as any funds received from abroad. The law stipulates the government may refuse applications for subsidies from organizations that receive funding from foreign states that “do not respect religious freedom.” The law does not further define what constitutes a state that does not respect religious freedom, and the government does not publish a list of such countries. Approval of state subsidies for religious and life-stance communities is made at the county level.
To register, a faith or life-stance organization must notify the government and provide its creed and doctrine, activities, names of board members, names and responsibilities of group leaders, operating rules – including who may become a member – voting rights, and the processes for amending statutes and dissolution. A group must report annually the national total number of members. If a religious group does not register, it does not receive financial support from the government.
Public schools include a mandatory course on Christian Knowledge and Religious and Ethical Information (CKREE) for grades one through 10. State-employed instructors teach the CKREE course, which covers world religions and philosophies and promotes tolerance and respect for all religious beliefs, as well as for atheism. Students may not opt out of this course. Schools do not permit religious ceremonies, but schools may organize religious outings, such as attending Christmas services at a local church of the Church of Norway. At their parents’ request, children may opt out of participating in or performing specific acts related to religion, such as a class trip to a church. Parents need not give a reason for requesting an exemption. Students may apply to be absent to celebrate certain religious holidays, such as Eid or Passover, but there is no celebration or observance of such holidays in public schools.
Members of minority religious groups must apply for annual leave from work to celebrate religious holidays; many Christian religious holidays are official holidays. The 2021 Religious Act instructs employers to provide employees two days off work annually to observe religious holidays. Under the Labor Law, employers may refuse additional days off, even if those days are made up during other holidays.
The law bans clothing at both public and private educational institutions that mostly or fully covers the face. The law applies to students and teachers and prohibits the wearing of burqas or niqabs in schools and daycare centers.
A hate crime law punishes some expressions of disrespect for religious believers, which include those meant to threaten or mock someone, or promote hate, persecution, or contempt. Police are responsible for investigating criminal cases of discrimination, including those involving religion, such as hate crimes. The government-funded but independent Antidiscrimination Tribunal reviews noncriminal discrimination and harassment cases, including those involving religion.
Individuals may apply for a full exemption from the required registration for a year of military service for religious reasons and are not required to perform alternative service.
By law, an animal must be stunned or administered anesthetics before slaughter, making most traditional kosher and halal slaughter practices illegal. Consequently, halal and kosher meat must be imported. The Ministry of Agriculture and Food routinely waives import duties on halal and kosher meat and provides guidance on import procedures to the Jewish and Muslim communities.
The country is a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
The Office of the County Governor of Oslo’s decisions of 2021 and 2022 to deny annual government subsidies to the Jehovah’s Witnesses, decisions the Ministry of Health upheld in January, put in place a process that ultimately led to the deregistration of the group, effective in April. Deregistration removed the group’s eligibility for state religious grants and its ability to conduct state-recognized marriages for the year. The decision leading to the deregistration was based on the group’s practice of “shunning,” a collective action taken when a member deviates from certain beliefs or requirements.
The government continued to implement measures identified in its action plan to counter antisemitism. It also continued to fund related projects carried out by government, academic institutions, and DMT, the country’s principal Jewish community organization. The plan emphasizes data collection, training and education programs in schools, research on antisemitism and Jewish life in the country, and efforts to safeguard Jewish culture. For example, the government provided 14.5 million krone ($1.4 million) to the Dembra Program to train teachers to increase awareness and prevent and combat antisemitism, prejudice, discrimination, and harassment of minorities in schools. The Dembra Program is coordinated by the Norwegian Center for Studies of the Holocaust and Religious Minorities (the Holocaust Center), an independent research and educational center associated with the University of Oslo.
DMT commented that for members of the Jewish community, performing work is forbidden on 13 Jewish holidays. DMT continued to express concerns that under the law, employers could compel Jewish employees to come to work on Jewish holidays or face consequences, including being evaluated for negligent performance.
On November 1, police announced an elevated threat against Jewish and Israeli targets “due to conflict in the Middle East,” and increased security presence at these locations. The Oslo Synagogue, in coordination with DMT, continued to coordinate with the Oslo police to provide added security for Jewish heritage sites and the Oslo Synagogue, with funds from the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development. It also acted as an intermediary between the Jewish community and police to facilitate timely reporting and monitoring of hate crimes. During the year, however, some Jewish community leaders said they were frustrated at a perceived inadequate police response to reports of harassment targeting Jews and an unwillingness to pursue cases as antisemitism or under hate crime statutes, which carry more serious penalties.
Throughout the year, the government continued to implement measures from its action plan to combat discrimination against and hate toward Muslims. The plan contains 18 measures that focus on research and education, dialogue across religious communities, and police initiatives, such as the registration of hate crimes toward Muslims as a separate category in crime statistics.
During the year, the Ministry of Justice and Public Security continued its annual five million krone ($492,000) fund to enhance physical security for religious and life-stance communities considered potential targets in the Police Security Service’s annual threat assessment. The Norwegian Police Directorate administered the fund.
The government continued to implement measures from its 2020-23 Action Plan against Racism and Discrimination on the Basis of Ethnicity and Religion. On November 23, the government updated the action plan for the 2024-27 period with specific focuses on discrimination in employment and youth.
Police continued to prohibit officers from wearing religious symbols, including religious headwear, with police uniforms. Other uniformed services allowed the use of religious headwear. The military provided some religious headwear that conformed to military dress regulations.
Christian, Muslim, and humanist chaplains served as officers in the military. Religious and humanist groups could provide chaplains at their own expense to hospitals, universities, and prisons.
The NGO Center against Racism continued to provide training and advisory services to police on detecting, investigating, and prosecuting racially and religiously motivated hate crimes. Police assigned personnel to support and coordinate these efforts, including providing resources to maintain hate crime investigators in each of the country’s 12 police districts.
The National Criminal Investigation Service continued to maintain a website for the public to contact police to report hate crimes and hate speech, including religiously motivated incidents.
A law, passed in June and to be effective in August 2024, would ban religious activity in schools, such as attending school-organized church services. Under this legislation, students may apply for an exemption from the ban to voluntarily participate in religious activities in school. Schools would continue the teaching of religions and life-stances as part of the regular curriculum. During the year, there were no significant reports of opposition to the legislation from religious groups.
The national CKREE curriculum continued to include components on Judaism and the Holocaust. In addition, the Ministry of Education and Research provided grants for school programs that raised awareness of antisemitism and hate speech, including religiously motivated hate speech. The government continued to fund the Jewish Pathfinders, a program through which young Jewish adults engaged with high school students on the teachings and principles of Judaism and being Jewish in the country. In many instances, the government provided these grants as part of its action plan against antisemitism.
Schools nationwide observed Holocaust Memorial Day on January 27 (also known globally as International Holocaust Remembrance Day). The government allocated 15.88 million krone ($1.5 million) to support extracurricular programs that took secondary school students to former Nazi concentration camps and other sites on three-day tours to educate them about the Holocaust. The two NGOs with primary responsibility for these programs, Hvite Busser (White Buses) and Aktive Fredsreiser (Travel for Peace), provided teaching materials, entrance fees, guided tours, and tour guide expenses for students who took day trips.
The government provided 2.434 billion krone ($239 million), or 700 krone ($69) per member, to the Church of Norway for salaries and operating expenses during the year, including for pensions and benefits of church employees and clergy. The government provided other registered religious and life-stance organizations approximately five billion krone ($491.8 million) in total, or 1,419 krone ($140) per registered member. The Church of Jesus Christ continued to be the only major religious community choosing to decline government funding.
According to law, the Church of Norway received additional local funding for the maintenance of church properties, such as church buildings and cemeteries, which other religious communities had to fund on their own. During the year, the government provided 181.1 million krone ($17.8 million) in subsidies for Church of Norway buildings. The Humanist Association continued to criticize this practice and stated that, to ensure equal treatment, maintenance of properties should be a municipal responsibility.
The Ministry of Children and Families and STL acknowledged that some restrictions and registration requirements posed barriers to smaller organizations to register for funding. Most religious organizations and life-stance communities registered and received government funding, channeled through the municipality where the organization is registered. STL and the Oslo Coalition on Freedom of Religion or Belief raised concerns that the government’s ability to approve or deny financial support for an organization based on review of its application or an assessment of that group’s religious practices created the opportunity for the government to influence an organization’s religious beliefs or practice.
The government continued to fund workshops and other intervention programs that featured practitioners who worked with religious minorities to promote their economic and social integration into society. Efforts focused on youth education and engaging local community stakeholders.
During the year, the government provided 16.2 million krone ($1.5 million) to religious dialogue and umbrella organizations, such as STL, the Christian Council, the Buddhist Council, and MDN, to promote dialogue and tolerance among religious groups and life-stance organizations.
On July 6, the Ministry of Children and Families published proposed changes to the Religious Communities Act of 2021. Proposed changes included enforcing the act’s requirement of a minimum 40-percent gender representation in the administrative and governing bodies of religious groups, updating membership requirements needed to access state religious grants, and developing the ministry’s basis for refusing grants to organizations. Religious organizations raised concerns that the changes could target specific groups, reduce the amount of state subsidies they receive, and potentially lead to their deregistration as officially registered faith entities. The Humanist Association said it was unusual to amend a law that had been in effect for such a short period of time. They stated many groups would not be able to meet the membership threshold number needed to access state grants, and that the proposed changes could lead to increased inequality between government treatment of the Church of Norway and other religious and life-stance communities. At year’s end, the proposed changes remained pending but were expected to be considered by parliament in 2024.
On December 12, over the objections of certain religious groups, parliament enacted a law banning conversion therapy. The ban affects “anyone who offends another by using psychotherapeutic, medical, alternative medicine or religiously based methods or similar systematic procedures, with the intention of influencing the person concerned to change, deny or suppress their sexual orientation or gender identity.” The ban also applies to citizens seeking to practice conversion therapy outside the country. The Council of Catholic Bishops and Jehovah’s Witnesses previously expressed opposition to the bill on the grounds it would restrict religious freedom. The bishops stated that “…prayer, intercession, or other religious practice” could become punishable under the draft. Jehovah’s Witnesses objected to the proposal on the grounds that the proposed law could be applied to include things said non-coercively during pastoral care and prayers. During the year, there were no reports of cases where conversion therapy was practiced.
The government is a member of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance.
During the year, the Antidiscrimination Tribunal received 20 reports of discrimination based on religion. The cases arose in various contexts, such as in academia, public services, or workplaces, and included a combination of forms of discrimination bases such as religion, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, or sexual harassment. The tribunal did not conclude any of these reported incidents violated the Equality and Antidiscrimination Act. In one of the cases, a university student reported having been discriminated against when university administrators did not exempt the student from exams scheduled on a Saturday. The student said their religion did not allow them to take an exam on Saturdays. The Tribunal concluded that the person had not been a subject of discrimination in accordance with requirements set forth in the Antidiscrimination Act.
The Holocaust Center, DMT, PKN, the Jewish Museum of Oslo, and police all reported a significant increase in religiously motivated hate speech following the October 7 Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel, and response by Israel. On October 30, DMT announced concern regarding increasing expressions of antisemitism in the country, and fear among the Jewish community at a level not experienced in decades.DMT cited intensified antisemitic and extremist language across traditional and social media, and general public discourse. DMT referenced crude and threatening antisemitic statements at public demonstrations.
The Holocaust Center similarly highlighted a return to the use of “biblical” and dehumanizing language in social and traditional media, language it said was widely considered unacceptable in the press and public discourse for more than 15 years. The center cited an example of an opinion piece in major press outlet Dagbladet that described Israel’s ethos as “an eye for an eye” and more common use of the term “apartheid” to describe Israeli policy. The PKN raised concerns that the Israel-Gaza conflict was accelerating polarization and “entrenching both sides in an echo chamber.”
According to DMT, the Holocaust Center, and police, growing antisemitic rhetoric had caused citizens to hide their Jewish or Israeli identities and ties and to avoid public discourse. The rhetoric had led to threatening incidents. DMT reported a Jewish family’s mezuzah was torn off the entrance to their home. Another family found the wheels of their baby pram had been cut open after they were awakened in the night by an individual ringing the doorbell, trying to open it and shouting threats outside. A boy attending secondary school was threatened, reportedly by a classmate, that his house would be bombed because his family was Jewish. According to DMT, a protestor carrying both Israeli and Palestinian flags was shoved by an unidentified individual and harassed at a demonstration.
Two Norwegian-Israeli women who returned to Israel to complete their military service requirements with the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), one 10 years ago and one currently on active duty, were subjected to hostile attention and violent threats when their activity became public. Their IDF service drew local media attention after the IDF featured on social media the active-duty servicewoman saying in Norwegian, “Together we will win. Together we are stronger.” The women then experienced threats of violence, including being called “child killers,” and a posting on social media hoping one of the women would return in a coffin. Their names, addresses, and personal family details were released to the public, and the extended family experienced harassment, with some needing security protection. Police had released little information about their investigations as of year’s end. An attorney for the police department told Jewish community leaders that police have taken very seriously the harassment of the woman currently in Israel and her family. The police department attorney said the case was being investigated as reckless behavior, but authorities had not ruled out other charges.
The Nordic Resistance Movement, SIAN, Vigrid, and online news sites Document.no and Steigan.no continued to publish religiously motivated hate speech, according to the Holocaust Center, the Center against Racism, and Muslim community representatives. The Holocaust Center reported the online leftist nationalist site Steigan.no, which has links to the Red Party, published articles critical of Ukraine that included an antisemitic message.
MDN representatives commonly stated the Progress Party’s antiimmigrant rhetoric continued to make life more challenging for Muslims and immigrants across the country. MDN cited an increase in such rhetoric, and subsequent hate-speech and harassment, after major news events, particularly those involving the Middle East. MDN said the Progress Party amplified anti-Muslim stories and framed them in an anti-immigrant narrative.
Police continued to use tip lines to monitor online hate speech. They listed awareness campaigns directed at the public and within the police as success factors for increased reporting of hate crimes by victims and members of the public.
Organizations, including SIAN, Human Rights Service, and Document.no, continued to post anti-Muslim articles online or in print media. The Holocaust Center stated the groups were relatively small but maintained a strong presence on the internet. Researchers at the University of Oslo Center for Research on Extremism (C-REX) reported that in many instances, anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant views were closely linked. SIAN held several anti-Muslim rallies in different cities, including Quran burnings, that received widespread media attention and frequently included larger groups of counter antiracist protesters. During the year, SIAN continued to press for the trial of two women who they said in 2022 deliberately caused a car collision that led to the injury of SIAN leader Lars Thorsen. The car collision occurred immediately after SIAN led Quran burnings in front of both a mosque and a police station. A court set the trial of the accused women for January 2024.
The Holocaust Center continued to conduct programs on the Holocaust and to combat antisemitism, with government financial support. The center conducted research on antisemitism and anti-Muslim attitudes in the country. In its December 2022 report, issued every five years since 2012, 32.8 percent of respondents somewhat or fully agreed with the statement, “Israel treats the Palestinians as badly as the Jews were treated during the Second World War.” One in 10 respondents expressed the belief that violence against Jews can be defended, while in response to questions on anti-Muslim attitudes nearly 50 percent of Norwegians believe Muslims are to blame for the harassment they experience. The DMT stated the report demonstrates the antisemitic sentiment underlying views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Holocaust Center emphasized that these were indicators of antisemitism prior to the Israel-Hamas conflict and that, given rhetoric online and in public discourse, recent events had led to heightened antisemitic and anti-Muslim views.
During the year, the Holocaust Center developed instructional materials on the importance of tolerance of religious diversity and distributed them to high schools nationwide. It conducted research on antisemitism and the links between antisemitism, anti-Muslim sentiment, and racism. The center continued to publish articles documenting antisemitism and the persecution of religious minorities throughout the world, including how far-right media used professionally produced content, particularly in social media, to convey “uncivil” news containing antisemitic and anti-Muslim messages. The center operated a website that provided a comprehensive overview of the threat of antisemitism and served as a foundation for the center’s educational efforts. It also screened materials used in public schools for antisemitic content. In addition, the center continued to operate a museum and library supported by its research organization that included a wide range of educational materials, programs, exhibitions, and publications. On January 27, the center sponsored and organized a memorial ceremony at the Oslo monument to the victims of the Holocaust, in collaboration with the DMT.
The Holocaust Center continued to play a significant role in supporting the government’s action plan against antisemitism by developing educational materials and online platforms for the Ministry of Education and Research and by monitoring both antisemitic and anti-Muslim attitudes throughout society. It conducted research on Jewish life in the country, religious extremism and radicalization, and hate crimes, including trends across Scandinavia, both on its own initiative and on behalf of parliament and government ministries.
Religious centers under MDN, including the Islamic Cultural Center and the Rabita Mosque, continued to be active in combating anti-Muslim sentiment through dialogue with the government and outreach programs. Youth in the mosque’s Pathfinders program visited schools around the country, bringing students into contact with Muslim youth – sometimes for the first time – to build bridges and combat stereotypes.
Mosques continued routinely to lock their doors at certain hours and employed armed security in response to security threats. Muslim representatives continued to report that these restrictions prevented members from fully accessing the mosques to pray or freely practice their religion.
STL continued to foster interfaith dialogue by holding joint meetings with all its member communities, reflecting its mandates to promote the equal treatment of religious and life-stance communities and to build respect and understanding among all individuals and faith and life-stance communities through dialogue. It received support from the government, as well as financial and in-kind contributions from its member organizations.
The Ambassador and other U.S. embassy officials met with the Prime Minister, Foreign Minister, and other senior leaders to discuss the Israel-Hamas conflict and antisemitism. The Ambassador and other embassy officials also met with the OSCE chair’s personal representative on antisemitism. Embassy officials met with officials of the Ministry of Children and Families and the county governor of Oslo and Viken to raise concerns regarding the deregistration of the Jehovah’s Witnesses. They also met with officials from the Ministry of Justice and Public Security and the Equality and Antidiscrimination Ombud to discuss efforts to track, investigate, and prosecute religiously based hate crimes.
The Ambassador and other embassy officials engaged a wide range of religious and civil society groups to discuss religious freedom, integration of minority groups, life as a person of faith and belief, and efforts to promote tolerance of all religious groups in the country, as well as to hear their concerns regarding religious discrimination, hate speech, and perceptions of government favoritism for the Church of Norway. These groups included the Church of Norway, STL, MDN, the Islamic Cultural Center, the Humanist Association, DMT, Rabita Mosque, Sikh Youth, the Jewish Museum of Oslo, the Buddhist Federation of Norway, Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Holocaust Center, the Baha’i Society, the Community Mosque of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Uyghur Muslim representatives, PKN, With Israel for Peace, Minotenk (a group promoting diversity and human rights), and religious researchers and historians at the University of Oslo’s Faculty of Theology, and C-REX. Following the October 7 Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel, the Ambassador attended a memorial service at the Oslo Synagogue and visited the Jewish Museum of Oslo.
The embassy used social media to honor a range of religious holidays celebrated by different faiths in the country, including Rosh Hashanah, Ramadan, Yom Kippur, Hanukkah, and Christmas, and highlighted the Ambassador’s engagement with religious communities and the embassy-sponsored speaker program focused on Muslim youth.
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