The Rabita Mosque (Norwegian: Rabita-moskéen) is a mosque in Oslo, Norway that is supervised by Basim Ghozlan. It has around 3,000 active members.[1]
The mosque was visited by King Harald V of Norway and Haakon, Crown Prince of Norway in 2009.[2]
Controversy
editThe mosque has been criticised for associations with Islamism and extremism.[1][3][4] Critics have pointed to a number of jihadists, who originated from the mosque, as well as to the mosque supervisor, Basim Ghozlan, who has allegedly tacitly supported the Muslim Brotherhood and failed to distance himself from the views of the likes of Yusuf al-Qaradawi.[4] Former members of the mosque include; Hassan Abdi Dhuhulow, a perpetrator of the Kenyan Westgate shopping mall attack and a prolific user on a website hosted by the mosque; Anders Cameroon Østensvig Dale, a Norwegian convert terrorist; and the first Norwegian suicide bomber in Iraq. It is also well known for being the mosque in Norway that has housed the most Norwegian jihadists to Syria and Iraq.[1][4] Zaniar Matapour, the perpetrator of the 2022 Oslo shooting was also seen praying in the mosque on the day of the attack.[5] After being criticised for hosting hate preachers at conferences, the mosque has withdrawn its invitations to certain preachers.[6]
In 2013 a 21-year-old woman died of a heart attack in the mosque, reportedly after being subjected to an exorcism, a procedure officially prohibited by the mosque.[7]
In 2014, the mosque, which is also known by its organisational name the Islamic Association (Norwegian: Det Islamske Forbundet), was listed as a terrorist organisation by the United Arab Emirates along with mosques in Denmark, Sweden and Finland.[8][9] The probable cause for the listing was thought to be that the mosque was identified as being a part of the Muslim Brotherhood.[8] The Nordic governments, in a joint diplomatic action, requested answers from the United Arab Emirates for the reasons behind the terrorist listings.[10]
References
edit- ^ a b c "Rabita-moskeens leder avviser ekstremist-stempel". Abc nyheter (in Norwegian). 4 August 2014.
- ^ "Her er nordmannen som skal ha blitt trent av al-Qaida". Dagbladet (in Norwegian). 5 July 2012.
- ^ "Var en helt vanlig muslim i Oslo - ble selvmordsbomber for ISIL". Dagen (in Norwegian). 4 August 2014.
- ^ a b c "Rabitamoskeen bør oppklare" (in Norwegian). Dagbladet. 19 September 2014.
- ^ "Nytt Matapour-bilde med våpenbag: Slik forflyttet han seg rundt i Oslo før terroren". NRK (in Norwegian). 17 June 2023.
- ^ "Trekker invitasjon til omstridt predikant". Nettavisen (in Norwegian). 14 October 2015.
- ^ "Etterforsker demonutdrivelse etter at Oslo-kvinne (21) døde" (in Norwegian). TV 2. 13 October 2013.
- ^ a b "Muslimsk forsamling på terrorliste". Vårt Land (in Norwegian). 16 November 2014.
- ^ "Emiratene har satt Det Islamske Forbundet på terrorliste" (in Norwegian). NRK. 16 November 2014.
- ^ "– Norden går sammen om terrorliste-undersøkelse". Dagen (in Norwegian). 19 November 2014.
External links
edit- Stor norsk moské med skjult økonomi: – En sikkerhetsrisiko [Large Norwegian mosque with hidden economy: – A security risk]. 2023-12-15. Nettavisen.no