Teenager calls year at Quranic school 'worse than prison'

A Norwegian teenager named Aylin has described her experience at a Quranic school as being "worse than prison." She stated this after wanting to pursue a regular high school education instead of spending the year at the religious institution.

Aylin's family moved to Mjøndalen when she was in seventh grade. The congregation had purchased a large, white brick building for 13 million kroner, which was approved for educational purposes, as a meeting place, and for lodging, including 20 beds. The imam's family occupied an apartment on the top floor.

However, Aylin was not to live there. She attended a middle school in Drammen, and after classes, she and her friends would go to the congregation's girls' mosque in the city center. The building, a pale pink apartment block, has two basketball hoops in the backyard, but few other signs of play. Curtains obscure the windows, and inside, common rooms are equipped with bunk beds.

The article implies a stark contrast between Aylin's desire for a normal teenage life and the restrictive environment of the Quranic school. The description of the facilities, with barred windows and shared sleeping quarters, paints a picture of a regimented and potentially isolating experience for the students.

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It was worse than prison.