Hvem kan stå foran? Religionsmangfold og diskusjoner om kjønnslikestilling blant norske muslimer

Abstract

At the onset of Ramadan in spring 2020, a debate on prayer leadership arose in social media. This was during the first societal shutdown due to COVID19, and consequently the common prayer during Ramadan had been moved from mosques and into private homes. The controversy initially centered on women’s possibility to lead prayer at home, but soon extended into a wider debate. In this chapter, I will examine the discussion on prayer leadership that took place. What can this debate tell us about negotiations related to gender equality and inclusion that are currently circulating among Norwegian Muslims? Do these debates signify any religious shifts related to Islam in Norway, and if so, what kind of changes are taking place? Discussions on gender equality are certainly not new to Islam, or to Norwegian Muslims. What is new, however, is that such internal discussions have moved into the Norwegian public, and that established Muslim organizations’ points of view on gender are challenged in public. In this chapter, I argue that the debate on prayer leadership provides insight into religious processes of change that are central for the situation of Islam in Norway, and that discussions on gender equality are key for understanding issues of representativity and pluralization existing among Norwegian Muslims.