We can ask the question why the hairdresser chose to discriminate the woman of Islamic faith for wearing a hijab? If we look at the hairdresser’s perspective through the lens of Peter Berger, we can apply the theory of the sacred canopy. “This canopy is made up of peoples constructed thoughts and views.” (Bartel, 09.08.2016)

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The hairdresser has an idea, or a thought of what a Norwegian is and should look like. She sees Islam and therefore Muslims as a threat to her Norwegian identity. She fears that the idea of what to be a Norwegian will disappear. Muslims poses a threat to values and traditions that are Norwegian, for example our democracy and freedom. When the woman of Islamic faith comes to the salon, the hairdresser only see the hijab. The hijab she has objectivized as something that does not belong in our society. The hairdresser has externalized attitudes towards Muslims, and she has internalized the hijab as a symbol of something dangerous, connected with terrorism, Muslims, and extremism.

 

This is also something we can see from what the hairdresser is saying in an article written by the British newspaper, Telegraph. “I see it (the hijab) as a totalitarian symbol. When I see a hijab I don’t think of religion, but of totalitarian ideologies and regimes” (Mustafa, 2016). For her, rejecting the woman service in her salon make sense, because the woman is wearing a hijab. A threat to her sacred canopy, it represents something she has internalizes as a symbol of a totalitarian ideology and that is something the hairdresser fears. The fact that she has got a lot of people supporting her in making Norway for Norwegians after this incident, shows that these kinds of actions has a nomos in our society. Peter Berger says that nomos is, “patterns that society wants people to see as objectively right and internalize them” (Bartel, 09.08.2016). An example of this is one of the Facebook posts from a former politician, who commented on the case, he said: “Interesting. You have no right to reject anyone. So, if a man wearing a Nazi uniform enters your salon the hairdresser should just politely say -Welcome, just sit down Mr. Obersturmbannführer, how do you want your hair today? (Myhre, 2016) 

Here the symbol of the hijab is compared to a Nazi uniform, a symbol that represent a society that brought terror and discrimination towards Jews and other enemies of Nazi Germany. It is like saying that every Muslim should be compared to Nazist. Or that people should fear and stand against Muslims because they will take over Norway and treat Norwegians as Jews were treated under the Nazi regime. That creates fear, prejudices and affect people’s opinions, to se what is right and wrong, what should be feared and what should not. 

 

That a respected politician can say something like this in the public eye, makes me question what kind of a society do Norway want? I don’t say that people don’t have the right to be afraid of terrorism, or to have their own opinions, and ask questions, because they do. But I ask what are people afraid of, Muslims? Or the idea of Islamic extremists? Which are two separate things. A Norwegian woman of Islamic faith who is wearing a hijab, does not make her a terrorist, it does not show that she supports extremist, and it does not show who she is as an individual behind the category she is put in, as a Muslim. Discriminating her promotes intolerance and discrimination, and that should not be accepted.

 

On the other side if we look at the bigger picture and the nomos our government wants us to inherit, it is different. They see that there are challenges in a diverse society. But focus on to meet these challenges, instead of seeing it as a problem and a threat. It is difficult to change the picture ethnical Norwegians have of “we/the people in Norway”. Further they say that there is no point to draw lines and create a gap between “us and them”, because it is not considered wrong to be a Norwegian citizen and belong to different cultures and religions (Arbeids og sosialdepartementet, 2003/2004).

 

This is globalization and that will, either we like it or not, bring new identities to the country. A Facebook group called “stop the hatetalk” also posted a comment to this case: They wrote: “The ironic part is that those who means that immigrants needs to follow Norwegian law, is now urging to break it.” (Stopp hatprat, 2016) Pointing here to the law of discrimination, which the hairdresser broke when she rejected the woman for wearing a hijab service. In the discrimination law (2005) § 4 it is written: “Direct and indirect discrimination based on ethnicity, national origin, ancestry, color, language, religion or belief is prohibited”.

Even though the hairdresser got many people supporting her view on Muslims, a lot of people also supported the Woman of Islamic faith. Groups like stop the hatetalk, and other, stood up for the woman, supporting her case. This became a trial were the hairdresser was convicted based on the discrimination law. It sent a message to the people that this is not a society that we want, and that actions based on discrimination is not going to be tolerated.