They were second-generation immigrants, born and raised in Norway. Some members of this generation felt outside mainstream Norwegian society and did not believe they were given the same opportunities as ethnic Norwegians. No matter how much of an effort they made, they would never be wholly accepted.
Some protested their parents’ modest, traditional lifestyles by adopting a life of hedonism, with everything that went along with it and was haram in Islam. Others gave society the finger—if you don’t want me, then I don’t want you—and became gang members. Young men with Muslim backgrounds were overrepresented in crime statistics.
But most found an identity allowing them to stand with one foot planted in each culture, deciding which values they would take from their parents and which they would adopt from their own country of birth. Some attempted to claim their place among those seen as Norwegian through and through—first in education, then in the workplace—and succeeded. Others leaned to one side, lifted a foot, and balanced on one leg. They found Western secular values incompatible with Islam.
In the wake of the terror attacks of September 11, there were many who felt being Muslim became more difficult. Islam constituted the new image of the enemy. Fear of immigrants spilled over into criticism of Islam. The need to stand together with others grew stronger. Muslim identity gained in importance.
Some teenagers stuffed all their setbacks and growing pains in the same bag: It’s because I’m a Muslim. They believed the media were against them, that they were being met with misunderstanding and prejudice, and Western society wanted to offend them. The debate over the cartoons of Muhammad in a Danish newspaper exploded when the leaders of Islam Net were teenagers. They needed some form of defense.
Why be a second-class Norwegian when you can be a first-class Muslim?
* * *
Girls usually had stricter upbringings, and many entered traditionally male fields and enrolled in law and medical schools. Others were inspired by the revivalist wave and held the Koran aloft as an instruction manual. The ideal of chaste womanhood grew in popularity, even among girls at professional schools. The hijab came into fashion.
Dilal was given none-too-subtle hints. “You’re distracting boys at the meetings,” a girl whispered to her, “you should dress more modestly.” Dilal ignored the suggestion. Emira, on the other hand, began wearing a hijab, even while playing football. She went from sporty to Muslim sporty to just Muslim. Later that autumn she took to wearing a jilbab, also known as a Somali burqa—a covering for the head and neck that descended into a long enveloping garment. She quit the soccer team.
Joining Islam Net could be a rebellion against family traditions. The demand to marry a cousin from your homeland felt like a burden for many. Islam Net encouraged girls to choose a partner for life from the whole ummah—among all strict Muslims. Islam should serve to unite them, it shouldn’t matter where their family hailed from or what nationality or ethnicity they had. In that respect, Islam Net was color-blind.
Emira was particularly receptive to the teachings on this matter. Her father had agreed to her marriage to his brother’s son when the children were small, a so-called import marriage, so that one more member of the family could have a future in Norway. Her single life was nearing an end. She implored her father, she begged him. But he was unyielding. She was to do as the family said.
The computer engineer wanted to make her own choice. And she already had. She was in love, she whispered to Dilal one day.
“With who?”
“I can’t tell you.”
“Enjoy it while you can,” Dilal said.
“He’s gorgeous,” Emira added. “And very religious.”
* * *
Aisha surprised her friends when she showed up at a talk in a full niqab. Only her eyes were visible.
“Brace yourself for a reaction!” Dilal said drily. “I don’t think Norway is ready for that.”
Emira quizzed her about the impracticality of being enveloped in so much material, while Ayan was fascinated. She covered only her head and wore regular clothes.
Now Aisha could see everyone and no one could see her. It made her seem even tougher, invulnerable in a way, now that she could only be heard. The niqab gave an impression of militant piety, of moral superiority.
Aisha’s sharp religious shift had come after a family stay in the UK, where her father had enrolled her and her sisters in a strict Muslim school.
“You’re doing your daughters a disservice. That education will render them unsuited to employment in Norway,” Ikhlaque Chan, a childhood friend who worked with integration services in Bærum, told him.
“Is that so?” Aisha’s father replied, and let the girls remain at the school.
The pressure on Dilal increased. One of the leaders approached her. “You should cover your hair,” he said, in a friendly tone.
Dilal looked up from under mascaraed lashes and affected a smile.
“I’m taking things one step at a time, bit by bit, okay?”
* * *
One evening, instructions about how they could increase the membership of Islam Net were distributed. He who submits to Allah and proselytizes shall be rewarded by Him.
First impressions were important. You had to alter your approach depending on whom you were talking to. If the person was a practicing Muslim, you were to stress the missionary aspect of Islam Net. “Inform them how it is obligatory for Muslims to have a group engaging in this type of work in every society. Tell them about the rewards the job brings. Talk about our activities and the results we have achieved in so short a time. Let them know we are just students and doing this only for Allah swt and that is why we need their support. Tell them we are sacrificing a lot, that our most active members have quit their jobs and failed exams because they are dedicating so much of their time to this work.”
When it came
