In Norway, women raised in Quran boarding schools recall a childhood without Norwegian friends. In most Muslim-majority countries, a Muslim woman cannot marry a non-Muslim; a Muslim man may marry a Christian or Jewish woman. The Quran forbids taking disbelievers “as allies instead of the believers” (4:144), singles out “the Jews and the Christians” (5:51), and denies believers any affection for those who oppose God, “even if they were their fathers” (58:22). Hadiths add: “Associate only with a believer” (Abu Dawud 4832), for “a man follows the religion of his friend” (Abu Dawud 4833). Never greet Jews or Christians first; push them to the narrowest part of the road (Muslim 2167). Wherever this logic shapes law or upbringing, a non-Muslim can be a neighbor or a client, never a friend.
Since 2020, Norway’s parliament has wanted to stop Quran schools from keeping children overnight. On September 23, the government declared a ban impossible, then changed its mind ten days later, after former pupils described their childhood there. In Amsterdam, the State tried the opposite method on an Islamic school, and was ordered to pay damages.
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