Norway: the scariest reaction
Jul 23rd, 2011 | 17 responses
The scariest reaction to economic despondency and fear of immigrants is starting to happen in Europe. It has struck with ruthless shock and awe in a country that is among the continent’s most homogeneous.
The killings by an over six-foot blond Norwegian using the automatic weapons and fertilizer bombs favored by self-motivated terrorists have sent a message that rigid beliefs are not the province only of Islamists. Anders Behring Breivik, 32, arrested in connection with the killing spree that might claim some 100 lives seems to be a fundamentalist Christian and nationalist.
His psychopathic actions send the message that natives like him are also willing to destroy innocents of their own kind and sacrifice liberty for their principles, however misguided. Had Islamic terrorists perpetrated this heinous crime, killing tens of teenage children, both Norway and NATO would have howled for revenge. The pacifist Norwegian people would surely have lifted their objections to taking part in anti-terrorism wars and their contingents in Afghanistan might have been beefed up.
What has happened is worse. Breivik’s actions have opened up a European Pandora’s box. First there will be soul searching. How could a discreet and peaceful Norwegian living with his mother kill so many children by his own hand, not a remote-controlled car bomb? Does the blame lie with the rhetoric of right wing demagogues using anti-Islamism as a ladder to climb to better political fortunes in Norway and other countries? Is it possible to prevent young heads from being filled so effectively with venom that moderate and left wing Europeans become legitimate targets for violent homegrown terrorism?
Breivik’s motives are still unclear but might have been linked to an expected visit by Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg to the Utoya Island youth camp, where the most carnage occurred. An hour earlier, a fertilizer bomb exploded outside his office building and for a while there was worry that he might have been hurt.
At the same time a new surge of fear may rise. The nightmare is that native right wing terrorists will exact retribution on governments, like Norway’s decent center-left regime, for being soft on immigrants especially those practicing Islam. A right wing lurch is already visible in Germany, France, Italy, Britain, Holland, Denmark and Finland. It may increase as centrist and center-right politicians leaner further right to snatch votes back from right wing extremists. Such extremists, who usually call themselves nationalists, traditionally win 10-20 per cent of the vote. The current economic malaise and increasing unemployment, often blamed on unfair competition from cheap third world labor and immigrants, could make their bombast more attractive.
In France, the Socialists are in such disarray after Dominique Strauss Kahn’s recent disgrace, that Marie le Pen, daughter of retired fiery right-winger Jean-Marie le Pen, is seen as a front-runner in the 2012 national elections. She has radical anti-Islamic views. President Nicholas Sarkozy has already upped his anti-immigrant rhetoric to separate some of her supporters from her sugar-coated but extreme positions.
Since 9/11, every major European country has started internal debates about national identity in relation to immigrants from mostly Arab Islamic countries. They currently average 3-4% of Western European populations. Recently, France and Belgium banned the Islamic veil in public places. The main complaint is that Islam does not empathize with European democratic values and Christian historical traditions. The challenge is often defined as one of integrating the immigrants without compromising European values.
When the details emerge, it is likely that Breivik acted to protect Norwegian national and cultural identity as well as the homogeneity of its Nordic population. Denmark, Sweden and Finland have strong right wing parties running on such platforms, as does Norway.
The prospect is not of a clash of civilizations or religions. However, we are at the threshold of a clash within European democracies between those who favor open borders and cultural intermixture and those who prefer to see fewer foreigners of non-European origin and religions living permanently in their midst.
17 Responses to “Norway: the scariest reaction”
For an Indian living in India, we don’t hear much from this guy about India.
For the record, Brij lives in Europe and writes for a host of publications around the world. Also, TMV has long had several people who are based in Canada and most of them have not written about Canada.
Someone should also say that this isn’t the first episode (though it’s obviously more dramatic and news-making than most) related to the rise of the uglier far Right in Europe and anti-immigrant (and anti-Muslim, now) sentiment.
It also must be said that anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim sentiment obviously is not without foundation, even if PC fools believe it is.
Don’t count on “replacement migration” to help European nations solve their future fiscal problems as their populations age and go stagnant or even decline.
*sigh*- Whatever happen to those good old Red Brigade days?
Exactly Allen, or
The Red Faction Army
IRA
ETA
Neo-nazies
Far right
Far left
Extremists all..extreme for different reasons.
Every nation has its problems.
I am convinced that evil comes first, then motive.
A man will have the capacity to murder. That man will use other factors of his life (political interest, personal history, what video game he plays) to decide who to murder. But the dysfunctional proclivity is there first.
I say this because there have been murderers across practically all belief systems, left, right, center & disinterested.
I completely disagree Barky
All humans have the capacity to murder.
Excellent article by BRIJ KHINDARIA hitting the nail on the head.
This is the result of the present labour government ignoring the obvious signs and refusing to listen to other political views. Their immigration policies has failed completely.
Although Norway as a loosely afiliated EFTA member of the EEC has become under increasing pressure to accept an increasing number of un-educated muslim refugees,it should have stood firm against this exagerated invasion.
I fear this is only the tip of the iceberg as the feelings of invasion by muslims with no intention of integration runs high.
Noway was always a peaceful country with the lowest crime rate of any country,not so today,with murders and rape featuring in our media every day. The drug scene is ripe,mostly controlled by foreign immigrants.
All this is having an immense impact on a small country with a population of some 4 million inhabitants.
My heart goes out to the relatives of the victims of this lunatic nationalist who finally lost it.
I guess I don’t understand the “terrorist” mind, if I was so extremely against immigrants, I would not kill a bunch of Norwegian youths (of any party), I would try and kill some immigrants. I think, “sick” mind trumps terrorist mind for this nut (oh, sorry, alleged nut).
P.S., Shannon. Is Germany at risk, they have tons of Islamic immigrants?
The guy that killed all these people, is mentally ill, not a political activist. How do you look eighty plus children in the face, then shoot them dead, because you are angry at your countries immigration policy? Even Tim McVeigh didn’t have the guts to look at those innocent day care children before he murdered them. You cannot possibly slaughter so much innocence face to face and be sane. It is not possible.
Due to a certain extremely nasty period of time in German history, German’s have little tolerance for nazish attitudes. Just last week, the bones of Rudolf Hess were dug up and burned in order to put an end to a yearly neonazi pilgrimage. Those people are obviously around. They are watched, like all of the extremists groups in Germany (scientology too).
Most muslim immigrants are from Turkey. They come from an already liberal country and actually have more rights to demonstrate their religion in Germany than they do in Turkey. They don’t all integrate very well, but they are much better than muslims from your typical ME countries.
There is also a major influx of eastern europeans here. I’d be more worried about imported nazish behavior from those groups than I would from an upset German.
Shannon, correct me if I’m wrong, but weren’t some mosques in Germany one of the main breeding grounds of terrorists. And, they were not Turks, I believe.
Yes, Germany had been pretty blind to the whole thing until 911. It was and still is an obvious black eye for the government and they keep very close eyes on those groups. Sadly, once those people leave for the AfPak border, they tend to lose track of them.
Shannon Lee-
I don’t think it is so much of a “black eye” to initially trust people. I think it’s a good quality. I wish we had more of it here.
We sure trusted those guys that wanted to fly big jets, but not the landing stuff. Our trust, is what some people call lack of security.
After Munich, you would have thought they had learned that Islamic extremism is something that does happen in Germany. More ineptitude than trust.
Here is a current article about the far Right in Europe.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904772304576466311152772054.html?mod=googlenews_wsj