Islam Net is a salafist Muslim organisation in Norway, founded by engineer student Fahad Qureshi in 2008. It has local chapters in Oslo, Akershus, Tromsø and Bodø, and is initiating a fifth in Trondheim. By 2011, the organisation had more than 1,400 paying members, centred on students.
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Activities
In 2010, Islam Net set out a "missionary expedition" to Nordkapp, Finnmarksvidda and Hammerfest, in order to "spread the message of the prophet and solve misunderstandings about Islam." Several Norwegians have converted to Islam at their meetings, and it runs a school in Oslo for new converts to Islam.
Islam Net is known for basing its public meetings on separating the audience by gender. It has received support for this position by the Muslim Student Society (Muslimsk Studentsamfunn) and Young Muslim (Ung Muslim). In 2010, the Oslo University College denied Islam Net free use of its rooms due to their position on hosting such meetings, but they have gotten the permission back as they have held events there afterwards.
Controversy
In an address (delivered in English) which was posted on the Internet on May 19, 2013, Qureshi expressed support for the execution of homosexuals, and argued that "normal Sunni Muslims" agree that this is an appropriate punishment that should be carried out everywhere for both homosexuality and adultery.
On January 8, 2015, after the massacre of the Charlie Hebdo magazine in France, Qureshi, after condemning the attacks, tore apart a drawing from the magazine, stating that while that Muslims do condemn the attacks, the magazine had abused freedom of speech to engage in the "bullying, scorn, [and] harassment" of Muslims by mocking the Prophet Muhammad.