Through the research project Private Islamic Approaches to Poverty Reduction funded by the Research Council of Norway we have learned about charitable practices and motivations among Muslims in the greater Oslo area. We have conducted semi-structured interviews with 50 individuals, and engaged informally with many more, who have shared their personal experiences, reflections and engagement for the poor, for a better world, in various ways associated with their faith. This is an event open to the public, but where we are especially interested in engaging with persons with a background from Pakistan or other Muslim societies, who are willing to provide us with critical and constructive feedback on our preliminary research findings. In the course of conducting our research, we have come to realize that Islamic charity is a well hidden secret in Norway, whether globally or within the Norwegian society.
Program for the event:
17.30 Dinner
18.00 Welcome (Kristian Berg Harpviken), introducing chair: Ingrid Nyborg(NORAGRIC/NMBU)
18.10 Presentations of main findings from the project (Kaja Borchgrevink and Marta Bivand Erdal)
18.40 Rahma Islamic Relief (TBC)
18.50 Mehtab Afzar (Islamic Council of Norway, IRN)
19.00 Shoaib Sultan (Norwegian Centre Against Racism/Project advisory board)
19.10 Comments from the audience
19.35 Closing remarks (Dr Hafiz ur Rahman, Qaid-i-Azam Univeristy, Islamabad)
19.45 Post-it notes exit exercise
20.00 End of event
The event will take place using English as the main language, but interventions in Norwegian and Urdu/Punjabi are also welcome, and will be translated informally.
In order for us to arrange the dinner, kindly register to the event by Monday 15 December via the web link.
The dinner-seminar is free and open to all.
Two Op-Ed articles based on findings from the projects can be found here:
