Pray for Muslims in Norway

Mariam put her head down and tried to avoid eye-contact with anyone as she walked quickly through the streets in Oslo, intent on getting home with the groceries she had just purchased. Her hijab was woolen, and welcome against the early winter chill, but it also made her a target for verbal harassment from passersby.

Mariam had lived in Norway for 5 years since arriving with her husband from Afghanistan, where they fled from worse harassment and the threat of death. She had worked hard to learn to speak Norwegian and to adapt to the very different food and weather. But here in Norway they had not made friends with anyone outside of their mosque community and Mariam wondered if they could ever feel truly at home.

Muslims make up only about 4% of the population in Norway but they are a great concern to many non-Muslim Norwegians. The Muslim population in Norway is made up almost entirely of first and second generation immigrant families, and they mostly live
in Norway’s urban centres. Many Norwegians living in rural areas have little contact with Muslims, but surveys have shown there is nevertheless a significant portion of the native population who are opposed to Muslim immigration and who avoid contact with Muslims. Predictably, many immigrants acknowledge that they have experienced prejudice or harassment.

Norway is known as a Christian nation, and it has a strong missionary history. In earlier centuries, Norway was one of the largest sending nations of missionaries in the world. Today, however, only a minority of Norwegians are regular church-attenders.

How to Pray

• Pray for Muslims immigrants in Norway as they are adapting to a totally new way of life.
• Pray for Norwegian Christians to revive their missionary heart and be proactive in reaching out to Muslims in their nation with the love of Jesus.
• Pray for Muslims in Norway to hear about and follow Jesus, as well as find fellowship with others.