Ramadan in Iceland: A Tale of Two Mosques

ABSTRACT

During the month of Ramadan, Muslims are required to fast from dawn to the beginning of the night. During summers in Nordic states, this means daily fasts of more than 18 hours. Two religio-juristic opinions have emerged regarding this challenge: one requires strict adherence to the commands of the Qur'an so long as night and day are distinguishable; the other encourages fasting the same number of hours as in Mecca and Medina or a nearby country where the duration of the day is moderate. This article offers an overview of these opinions, their development and how they resist common distinctions between ‘pragmatic' and ‘strict' juristic panels. On the basis of a field study conducted during 2015 in two mosques in Reykjavik, it also explores the division among Iceland's tiny minority of devout Muslims over this issue, and the contesting justifications given by leaders and attendees of the two mosques for their respective views. The discussion demonstrates the conflation of transnational and local influences (including satellite television channels) that contribute to the diffusion of fatwās in Europe, and the limited utility of the labels wasaṭī and salafī in predicting the actual practices of individuals and communities.

KEYWORDS:

• Ramadan
• Iceland
• religious law of Muslim minorities
• wasaṭiyya
• salafiyya

Acknowledgments

The author thanks Avner Shavit, Sören Andresen, Kfir Gross and Carl Yonker for their assistance.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. Interviews by the author with Ḥusayn Ḥalāwa at the Islamic Cultural Center of Ireland, 13–14 February 2012.

2. To judge by its number of ‘likes' – a little more than 400 in July 2015 – the Facebook page of the campaign against the ‘Islamizing' of Iceland has not gained much popularity: https://he-il.facebook.com/pages/Stop-Islamization-of-Iceland/1375929415984118.

3. For example, a booklet distributed by the municipality, The City of Reykjavík's Human Rights Policy, which is available at al-Nūr, states that “it is forbidden to discriminate on the grounds of a person's religious or political beliefs”, and that “people's beliefs should always be met with respect and tolerance”. The booklet notes that the city “takes into account the various customs related to different religions in the City's educational and recreational activities”, that it “affords all employees the same opportunities to career development”, and “consults with religious groups when making decisions affecting said group”. As an example of illegal discrimination, it notes a workplace that forbids one employee from wearing a turban and allows another to wear a cross without being able to justify the distinction with reference to health and safety.

4. Maḥbūb al-Raḥman, a Pakistani-Norwegian and head of the Islamic Cultural Center Norway, the largest mosque in Oslo, has been a member of the European Council from the day of its establishment and is a supporter of al-Qaraḍāwī. Asked in his Oslo office by the author what he considered the Council's greatest achievement, he mentioned uniformity in the issuance of fatwās through a cross-European network of jurists. But he also said that he accepted or rejected each of the Council's decisions on its merit, and was not wholly committed to al-Qaraḍāwī's teachings. Interview at the Islamic Cultural Center Norway, Oslo, 22 March 2014.

5. For example, Nāṣir al-ʿĪsā, the imam of al-Nūr mosque, Berlin, stated (in line with salafī fatwās) that a Muslim cannot offer a congratulatory greeting specifically on a non-Muslim religious holiday. However, he added that, in his opinion, it is permissible to reply to a seasonal greeting by saying ‘to you as well’. Al-ʿĪsā said that some fatwās of Saudi jurists are not applicable to Europe and result from Saudi jurists’ lack of visiting the continent and learning its realities. Interview at al-Nūr mosque, Berlin, 1 August 2013.