Abstract
The chapter investigates dynamics of minority-majority religious interaction in two localities in Norway with a strong Muslim presence and considers the ways in which media, based on conflictual representations, comes to costructure interaction relating to lived religion and conduct of citizenship. The chapter asks: How do Muslims active in interreligious initiatives in Kristiansand and Oslo relate to the media portrayals of Islam and in what ways does the coverage influence their engagement? The study argues that attending, and participating in, interreligious forums can be understood as a minority strategy to cope with, counter, and calibrate perceived negative media portrayals since these actions are ways of performing belonging to the Norwegian nation and conducting citizenship. As the interreligious forums provide an occasion for the Muslims to self-present in ways that allow them to demonstrate their Norwegian belonging, the Muslims’ public conduct and self-representations, nonetheless, becomes restricted by the forums’ diversity governance.
