Morgenbladet, a weekly of Norway’s left-leaning cultural establishment, has a 12-page report on Islam Net, which has become a power factor in Islamic Norway, with NOK 277 million in operating income and NOK 164 million in the bank, as much as the Catholic Diocese of Oslo. In step with its income, Islam Net has been accepted by the other Muslim organisations. They talk to one another. But so do Islamic organisations and the authorities.
Islam Net’s movement towards the centre is not an expression of deradicalisation, but an adaptation and opportunism in both directions: The authorities have moved closer to a moderate Sunni orientation. Moderate means that it has softer edges. They have learnt what provokes Norwegians. But one does not have to scratch far beneath the surface to see that the essence is the same.
Islam Net retains the same preachers as before. Fahad Qureshi claims that he has not seen any videos featuring Mohammed Hijab. That is not credible.
Islam Net has moved towards official Norway, which in turn has moved towards Islam. This is not discussed in the public sphere, but people notice it in the workplace, at school and in sport. Acceptance is greater. There is to be room for Islam, on Islam’s terms, that is.
There are several ‘findings’ in Morgenbladet’s report that clearly indicate where Islam Net stands. Morgenbladet chooses not to elaborate.
The imams at the Iman Centre say they teach according to two different schools of law: Hanafi and Hanbali. Hanbali is the school followed in Saudi Arabia. That says it all.
Islam Net claims that it has become tolerant, but Qureshi has not understood what freedom of expression means in the realm of religion.
– Do exactly what you want in your own life, but the moment you come and restrict other people’s freedom to believe and practise in our way, then you have gone too far.
Qureshi defines ‘restrict’ as restricting ‘the opportunities to practise Islam’, meaning the things Muslims want: Separate rooms, minarets, the hijab in the workplace, whether private or public. Not having to shake women’s hands. There are a thousand small things which, taken together, expand Muslims’ sphere and dominance over society.
Right now, it suits Qureshi to say that he never believes Norway will become Islamic. But the path Islam Net is following, and towards which the authorities are moving, will lead to an Islamised Norway. It is only a question of time and numbers.
An important piece in the game is the bridge-builders, those who play the role of facilitators.
Marius Linge is one of them. In 2020, he published a book on Salafism in Norway together with Sindre Bangstad, another facilitator with an aggressive attitude towards the right.
Marius Linge gives a revealing characterisation of his own position when he says that there are Christians who are more conservative than Islam Net.
He finds it striking that parties such as ‘FrP and KrF remain critical of the organisation’.
– There are many Christians who are more conservative than they are. Their electorate is every bit as Christian-conservative as Islam Net is socially conservative, he says.
That is an utterly incredible statement from someone who calls himself a researcher. They have mentally converted.
In 2025, Islam Net posted a video of a Quran-burner in London being chased with a knife, kicked and beaten. Qureshi: ‘If you insult someone to their face, they will hit back. That is how the world works. I do not support it, but that is the reality.’
Marius Linge found the video uncomfortable to watch and calls it ‘Islamic populism’. He says Islam Net makes use of ‘identity-political polarisation’.
What if the conservative Christians he refers to had used the same methods? As is well known, the media and the authorities are conducting a campaign against ‘hate speech’. Islam Net has had tents in Oslo and Trondheim stating that Jesus was a Muslim, but not the Son of God. What if non-Muslims also reacted because they felt offended? The question is not asked because the Norwegian media abandoned Christianity long ago. It would not occur to them to defend Christianity.
Thus, one line of defence has fallen, and the road to conquering Norway lies open.
The Norwegian media and Islam Net can unite in their hatred of Israel.
Islam Net initiated the Muslim Votes campaign ahead of the elections in 2021 and 2025. Last year, people were advised to vote for SV because SV issued an ultimatum that the Oil Fund must divest from Israel. Muslim Votes chose to overlook the fact that Marian Hussein held a different view on abortion and Pride. The fight against Israel trumped Pride.
That says something about how deep the hatred of Jews runs, including on the left.
It is not only researchers such as Marius Linge and Sondre Bangstad who are paving the way for Islam in Norway.
Fahad Qureshi’s brother, Zeshan, is employed by Sturla Stålsett at MF Norwegian School of Theology, Religion and Society. Islam now has a foot inside academia and is projecting a new historical understanding of Islam in Europe. Islam has meant far more than we realise. These views are given a platform without objections in the Norwegian press, partly because there is no one to contradict him. They lack the knowledge, and those who possess it remain silent.
This is how a society can be conquered without a sword being drawn, and that is precisely what is happening in both Europe and the USA.
Counterforces exist, and they are growing. But they are met with resistance from the media and the authorities. Those who wish to defend and preserve the nation-state therefore have several enemies.
Next year, the Iman Centre will apply for state support as a religious community. It will then be entitled to NOK 1,611 per member. It is now running a campaign to get as many people as possible to register so that it can build mosques in Strømmen and convert the centre at Haugenstua into a ‘towering mosque in glass and black with gilded elements’.
Islam Net has become a power factor, and Qureshi and close family members are ensuring that they retain control of the Iman Foundation.
Money has poured in from abroad and made it possible to purchase the shooting centre at Haugenstua for NOK 60 million. Half up front.
The County Governor, Jan Sanner of Høyre, who is never mentioned by name, says that the equity of a religious community does not affect its entitlement to state subsidies.
The Iman Foundation can look forward to the state helping to finance its expansion.
The state, represented by Jan Sanner, has no objection to that.
