Oslo city councillor wants to mark Ramadan publicly
A woman fixes a traditional Ramadan decoration. A Norwegian city councillor thinks that Oslo should be decorated as well. Photo AFP, Khalil Mazraawi
Northern Europe
In a diverse city where people believe in a diversity of things, it is nice to mark holidays, says Oslo city councillor Eirik Lae Solberg. Therefore, he pleads for Ramadan decorations to celebrate the Islamic holiday next to the existing Christian ones.
Earlier, London had already decorated a street to celebrate Ramadan. Now, Oslo should follow that example, Solberg tells Vart Land.
It is not the first time that the topic has been brought up in Norway. Earlier this year, the district committee of Old Oslo already decided that Ramadan should be marked. The district committee then asked the City Environment Agency, mosques and other actors to cooperate in a celebration starting in 2024, Vart Land writes.
Proposal
However, there are some concerns about the light pollution that the light decorations will cause. Especially the Centre Party has expressed these worries. However, the party does not oppose the “public celebration of non-Christian religious holidays in Oslo” and even submitted a proposal to that end. It was up for voting in October but did not get voted on.
Eirik Lae Solberg believes that the Oslo municipality should take more initiative and not let this up to districts. Not only does he want to open up public celebrations of Ramadan, but he also wants to give other religious communities the opportunity to mark their holidays in Oslo.
In addition to London, Ramadan is also marked in Ceuta (Spain) where Ramadan is also marked with light decorations, as reported by Salamplan.
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