OSLO — This is one of the most placid and pleasant capitals of Europe, but Oslo is a divided city. The west of the city is rich, safe and predominantly white; the east, poorer, less safe and populated by immigrants, many of them Muslim.

Norway has recently tightened its liberal immigration and asylum rules in the midst of a longstanding debate about assimilation and multiculturalism. Despite Norway’s oil wealth and low unemployment, there has been a growing concern over the increasing size of the Muslim population, especially after Sept. 11 and the Danish crisis over the publication in late 2005 of cartoons depicting Muhammad, which were published in Norway, too.

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