--- description: A Norwegian political party has voted to ban the ritual circumcision of boys, which has been criticized as an attack on minorities title: Norway's Anti-Immigration Party Wants to Ban Ritual Circumcision image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8b2f2f692f62e444/6988cc670a4a22d8ca9ce135/siv-jensen.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [norway](/tag/norway/) ## norway Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Norway's Anti-Immigration Party Wants to Ban Ritual Circumcision by [Tara John](/author/tara-john/) ## Tara John Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 8, 2017 5:04 PM CUT  Siv Jensen, a politician in the Norwegian Parliament and leader of the Progress Party, in 2016. Siv Jensen, a politician in the Norwegian Parliament and leader of the Progress Party, in 2016.Jonathan Nicholson—AP by [Tara John](/author/tara-john/) ## Tara John Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 8, 2017 5:04 PM CUT A Norwegian political party has voted to support a ban on ritual [circumcision](http://time.com/4314388/new-autism-dispute-is-circumcision-a-factor/ "undefined") of boys, a move that has been criticized as an attack on religious [minorities](http://motto.time.com/4632781/women-corporate-boards-pay-gap/ "undefined") in the [country](http://time.com/4730571/norway-tunnel-ships-stad-construction/ "undefined"). The anti-immigration Progress Party (FRP) voted on May 6, during its annual conference, an favor of a ban circumcision of boys — a common practice among Jewish and Muslim communities in the country. Ervin Kohn, president of The Jewish Community, an Oslo-based congregation, told [told _Aftenposten_](http://www.aftenposten.no/norge/politikk/Frp-vil-forby-omskjaring-av-guttebarn-Les-alle-vedtakene-her-620654b.html "undefined") newspaper that he was disappointed with the decision. “This is very sad. What on earth \[does\] the FRP want with this decision?” he told _Aftenposten._ “It seems that they want to send a signal that we are unwanted in this country.” The party’s leader, Siv Jensen, told _Aftenposten_ that she was against the measure, which came after a last-minute vote. She says the move is not intended to target minorities. The vote does not make the proposal an official law in Norway, but rather adds support for the ban as part of the party’s platform. FRP is the third largest in the country and is a junior member in the country’s Conservative-led coalition government. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4770765/norway-ban-circumcision/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4770765/norway-ban-circumcision/"},"headline":"Norway's Anti-Immigration Party Wants to Ban Ritual Circumcision","datePublished":"2017-05-08T17:04:48.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T04:48:19.899Z","description":"The move has been criticized as an attack on religious minorities in the country","url":"https://time.com/4770765/norway-ban-circumcision/","keywords":["norway","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8b2f2f692f62e444/6988cc670a4a22d8ca9ce135/siv-jensen.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Tara John","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/tara-john/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8b2f2f692f62e444/6988cc670a4a22d8ca9ce135/siv-jensen.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"UK: Siv Jensen speaks about reforming the Norwegian economy","caption":"UK: Siv Jensen speaks about reforming the Norwegian economy","creditText":"Jonathan Nicholson—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/norway/","name":"norway"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4770765/norway-ban-circumcision/","name":"Norway's Anti-Immigration Party Wants to Ban Ritual Circumcision"}}]}] ```