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Heart and Soul: Conversion Norway-style

Factual: Health & Wellbeing

15/07/2022 GMT

Conversion Norway-style

BBC World Service - Heart and Soul, Conversion Norway-style

How Norway’s Christian and Muslim leaders forged a historic pact on the right to convert.

In 2007 Christian and Muslim leaders in Norway controversially recognised for the first time in modern history, the right to convert between the two faiths without harassment or impediment. They also called for all missionary work to be conducted “without force or manipulation". 

The “Joint declaration on the freedom of religion and the right to conversion” was welcomed as an important contribution to inter-faith dialogue in the Scandinavian nation. But it was also seen by some Muslims as recognizing the right to abandon Islam, which is considered apostasy and punishable as a criminal offense in many Muslim countries. It was similarly criticised by some of Norway’s evangelical churches, which saw it as disavowing their central missionary role.

Reporter Maddy Savage travels to Norway to hear the stories of some of those who’ve chosen to convert from one of the two faiths to the other; and to ask whether the joint declaration played any role in their life changing decisions.

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