Speaking of the headgear case

Only Ny Tid's emissaries order hot drinks at the small café a stone's throw away from the mosque in Åkebergveien in Oslo. Amber Khan – spokeswoman for the World Islamic Mission and known, among other things, from TV debates about immigration and integration – is now fasting as it is Ramadan.

- It is not so difficult to stop eating and drinking now when the days are so short. But I wonder what it will be like when Ramadan coincides with the long and bright summer days. The last time it happened I was a child, and then I did not fast, laughs Amber.

At that time, when she was a child, she lived at Stovner. And she does now. Amber is a second generation immigrant, born and raised in Norway.

- When I was little I almost only had Norwegian friends. As a kid, I never said I was Pakistani. Children are color blind, says Amber, who is now 25 years old and is taking a master's thesis on the Middle East at the University of Oslo.

- Has adapted

Her parents moved from Lahore in Pakistan to Norway in the 1970s. But the background is more diverse than it was: Originally, their ancestors are Pashtuners from Afghanistan. From there, they moved to India where they held houses in Punjab for several generations, until they had to flee to Pakistan after the British gave up colonial rule, and Muslims and Hindus split the Indian crown jewel in two.

But for Amber, Norway has been the home country, the safe country and the culture she was born into.

- My parents, on the other hand, had to put themselves in a new context, a new culture. Here it was a lot of strangers, while their own culture was what was safe. It therefore became important for them to carry on their culture. They wanted me and my four sisters to understand it, says Amber.

However, parents' wishes and youthful rebellion were not always compatible. Discussions and quarrels about things like going out on the town with friends and having a boyfriend also took place at the Khan family. But as the years went by, a development took place, an adaptation to Norwegian conditions.

- My oldest sister was not even allowed to join a camp school. My parents were insecure about this, they were not used to it from Pakistan. But when I got that age, I got to participate in everything from camp school, prom and parties at friends' homes. My parents definitely went through a lot of development, says Amber.

And the change didn't just happen to the kids. When her mother came to Norway, she was used to wearing burka, the all-encompassing garment that hides everything from female forms to face.

- But now she has adapted, now she only wears headgear. The Qur'an says that we should use our intellect to develop Islam for the good of the people, says the daughter.

- Difficult dilemma

For Amber, the development – when it comes to headwear – has gone in the opposite direction.

- I was 21 years old when I of my own free will started wearing the hijab. I went to Koranic school and learned that women should cover their heads and dress modestly, just as men should. The headdress becomes a symbol for me, my identity. Otherwise, I go as you see with jeans and western outfits. I do this because I was born and raised in Norwegian culture, not because I adapt.

Amber believes that refusing someone to wear a headgear is comparable to forcing someone to wear a headgear, as Western women visiting Iran may experience. Coercion is just as unethical, no matter which way it goes.

But what about the burka in school, one must accept that students cover their faces so that neither teachers nor fellow students can see who you are – to avoid coercion? Amber takes a long pause to think before answering.

- Yes, I must be honest to say that this is a difficult dilemma. And I have no solution for that now. I myself will never wear a burka, I am comfortable with a shawl.

Judging others or bumping someone away is not Amber's mission.

- I have girlfriends who go in singles, something I do not do. My sisters do not wear headgear, but practice Islam just as much for it. Mom was happy when I started wearing the hijab. But she is equally fond of all the children, says Amber, who believes that if everything had been clear in the Qur'an, there would have been no discussion in Muslim circles.

Still, the main principles of Islam will never change, she believes. For example, the ban on drinking alcohol and the requirement that women cover their heads will always be part of religion.

- Islam is for development

Is Erna Solberg, the Supreme Councilor responsible for refugees and immigrants, right that the Muslims in Norway are not modern enough? Amber shakes her head at the play last week.

- Solberg's proposal was not very constructive. And honestly, I do not understand what she means. In Islam, development is central, one must use the intellect. Certain things, such as forced marriage and female genital mutilation, are culturally related and have nothing to do with Islam. And the criticism of imams in Norway; how good or bad they are at integrating is not a religious question, Amber believes.

She does not mind focusing on integration, but at the same time allows for the differences. But she is tired of having to stand school right for wrongdoing committed in this country and elsewhere in the world.

- People try to hold us accountable for everything from honor killings in Sweden to the conditions in, for example, Saudi Arabia and Iran. After the terrorist attacks on September 11, all Muslims are cut across a ridge. Imagine if Norwegians constantly had to answer for what the Protestants do in Northern Ireland, Amber challenges.

The problem, she believes, is that people cannot separate religion from culture.

- Circumcision of girls is a tradition in some African countries that has nothing to do with Islam. The honor killing in Sweden was not about Islam either, the Turkish family was not even Muslims. And the first honor killing in Sweden was actually committed by a Christian Palestinian. Nevertheless, there are Muslim girls in Norway who experience being asked whether they should be forcibly married or whether they have been circumcised.

“Muslim look”

Much of the responsibility for this misconception of Islam – Amber believes – must be borne by the press. Sensational postings and massive coverage that do not provide a holistic picture contribute to xenophobia. Not least, she is upset that the media should definitely highlight the country of origin – if it is about criminals.

- A while ago – I think it was in Dagbladet – a criminal was described with the words "man with a Muslim appearance". What is it about? Is everyone with a beard Osama bin Laden and dangerous, Amber asks.

Neither is the women's movement free from criticism.

- Those who say that headgear is oppressive of women are ethnocentric. Ask the women's movement in the Middle East what they think. The Qur'an not only says that women should dress decently, it says the same about men, says Amber.

And though she doesn't go with it herself; condemning the use of burka as hostile to women is also not obvious.

- Many associate the burqa with the Taliban and coercion. And if it happens under duress, it is oppressive. But my mother did not wear the burka because it was forced on her. Before it was natural for her to wear the burka, now it is not natural anymore, defends Amber, who believes that the burka as an ancient tradition would have been gone if it was as oppressive of women as many want it to be.

- In Turkey, it is forbidden for women to wear headgear. Where is the women's movement in relation to this? Is it not a question of being allowed to go as one pleases, the spokeswoman for the World Islamic Mission asks.

- Sex and female body

Amber's Middle East studies have brought her to Egypt, where she studied Arabic in Cairo. She admires the women's movement in the country.

- Nawal Sadawi, a secular women activist in Egypt, has questioned whether it is not, on the contrary, Western women who are oppressed through the violent focus on sex and the female body. Women are often portrayed only as an object, says Amber, who despite outbursts against women activists, believes that most are not ethnocentric.

- I think there have been many terrible discussions. Not everyone can agree on everything. To be liberal is to be open to differences. Discussions are not dangerous, they are fruitful, says Amber.

One group, however, she is not so excited about; Human Rights Service with Hege Storhaug and co.

- I find it difficult to discuss with them. They do a job to help girls, but they have chosen confrontation, not dialogue. They do not want to create understanding, Amber believes.

It is important for the young Norwegian Pakistani woman to make people understand that Islam is not a contradiction to human rights. But are more countries and regimes claiming to follow the teachings of Islam not exactly Amnesty International's best child?

- Many people use Islam as a religious cloak to legitimize actions, such as Saudi Arabia, Iran and the Taliban. At the same time, these actions are often associated with other things such as culture, colonial past, wars and economic misery. Yes, it is wrong and dangerous to abuse religion. But for my own part, it is also important to say that the lack of democracy in Saudi Arabia and the Taliban's view of women has nothing to do with Islam.

- Shoots himself in the foot

When Amber looks 10-20 years ahead, she believes and hopes for a positive development in the relationship between the large community and minorities in Norway.

- We who were born and raised in this country have no barriers. If there is criticism of us, we counter, says Amber, and hopes the sharpening of opinions leads to a development.

If, on the other hand, the Progress Party's politics and Danish conditions prevail, she is very skeptical.

- If it goes in the Danish direction, if there are separate rules for minorities, then they shoot themselves in the foot. Our religious community is open to cooperation with the authorities and to guidelines and measures. But it is up to us, we want to help lay the groundwork, says a battle-ready Amber.

An example of the opposite is, in her opinion, the proposal to introduce a parent reunification requirement for persons under 23.

- In Denmark, they have introduced such an age limit of 24 years. There, people instead go to Sweden to get married, or to their home countries and stay there until they are old enough to return. This will not prevent forced marriage. I do not deny that the problem of forced marriage – which, by the way, is completely contrary to Islam – exists. But such a law will never, never work, Amber states.

This summer, she was involved in celebrating weddings for five friends her own age. The trend is that immigrant youth are waiting to have grown older and have finished their education. She has not yet found her chosen one.

- I can choose myself who I want to marry, also with a Norwegian boy. But I will be honest to say that my parents would rather see that I chose one from my own culture. For me, it is important that he is a Muslim, says Amber.

Then she laughs. The university studies and the work of the World Islamic Mission take most of the time. A husband has to wait.