State aid to Norway’s largest mosque frozen due to conflict
State aid to Norway’s largest mosque has been temporarily suspended. According to the County Governor, there are two boards that both claim to represent the mosque.
The Tawfiiq Islamic Center in Åkebergveien in Oslo is Norway’s largest single mosque. It is founded by Norwegian Somalians and has 7,837 members.
As NRK understands, the background is several years of conflicts between different groups in the mosque. On Sunday, a police patrol erupted after neighbors reported a brawl.
Religious communities receive NOK 1,000 annually from the public per member. The support for 2019 of almost NOK 8 million should have been paid out in June, but the payment has been suspended.
– “The payment has been put on hold because we have no clarity on who is representing this mosque. It is information we need to know that we are paying support to those who actually represent the religious community,” says section manager Hege Skaanes Nyhus at the County Governor of Oslo and Viken.
“As we have understood the conflict, there are now two boards that say they both represent the religious community,” she says.
The section manager says they hope to conclude the case in a few weeks.
© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today
