Miriam Mardan, who represents Rødt Grünerløkka and is a former minority advisor, believes it is a big problem that all negative social control is placed only on Muslims.

Mardan writes in a column in Vårt Land that negative social control is not something that is reserved for a specific religion or culture, but that it can happen to anyone.

“There are closed Christian communities consisting of ethnic Norwegians, where children are not allowed to listen to music. Negative social control also takes place among ethnic Norwegians, also in the name of the Bible,” writes Mardan.

The Red politician claims that despite the fact that human rights are violated in many closed Christian religious communities, no one draws parallels to the church.

“It would be completely unthinkable because it’s banal – so you shouldn’t do the same with mosques either,” she writes, and continues:

“Negative social control is a complex phenomenon that is primarily about collectivist, patriarchal structures that go beyond individual freedoms and human rights. Within this range there are all possible variants, this problem is fixed neither by increasing the number of mosques, nor by reducing them.”

Mardan points out the importance of religion and how it can bring together people who have otherwise fallen outside.

“Religion can often offer safe and health-promoting environments that are important to us, and particularly important for those who cannot return to their original environments,” she concludes.