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Issue 268, Friday 26 August 2011 - 26 Ramadan 1432

Over 70 people massacred by a self-proclaimed Christian

By Masoomah Shareef

On July 22, Anders Behring Breivik, 32, carried out dual terrorist attacks in his home country of Norway, killing nearly 77 people in broad day light.

The first terrorist attack was a car bomb placed within Regjeringskvartalet, the executive Government quarter of the capital Oslo. The explosion took place at 2.30pm outside the office of the Prime Minster, Jens Stoltenberg, and other Government buildings. It left eight civil servants and government office staff, with one restaurant/bar owner dead, with 89 injured, some critically.

The second attack took place less than two hours later at a Norwegian Labour Party youth summer camp on the island of Utøya in Tyrifjorden, Buskerud. Breivik disguised himself as a policeman. Armed with guns and bombs, he opened fire randomly at the participants, whilst luring them to come to him for help as confusion arose as to what was occurring. Out of more than 500 people at the site, 69 were killed and 62 injured, whilst more than a dozen are missing; if found dead, it could bring the death toll in Utoya to 86.

This terrorist attack is considered to be one of the biggest in the European history. The first attack was a clever diversion, giving time to Breivik to carry out the callous murders.

Breivik was arrested in Utoya and charged with terrorism for both attacks. His lawyer, Geir Lippestad, explained that Breivik has acknowledged his responsibility for both the bomb and the shooting, but denied being guilty of criminal charges, as he stressed that his actions were “atrocious but necessary”.

The victims are aged between 14 -29, with 10 of them aged 30-61. The majority are native Norwegians, with nearly 10 from other ethnic backgrounds or mixed-race; some of them are Muslims.

There have been reports that only hours after the terrorist attacks, Muslims were being assaulted and spat on, perhaps largely to do with the initial assumption that the violence was committed by Al-Qa’ida or a Muslim group. This was the line taken by the majority of the world’s media a short time after the attacks.

Once it was manifest that the killer was a Christian from the far right, most of the media followed the line of the killer’s lawyer that Breivik is “insane”.

The psychological state of Breivik is yet unclear; but the 1,518 page manifesto that he emailed to what he calls ‘patriotic friends’, nearly 7,000 on Facebook according to his claim, are far right or anti-Islam activists. He spent nine years researching and writing his manifesto, titled “2083 - A European Declaration of Independence.”

The central beliefs to his ideology are hatred for Islam and what he calls ‘cultural Marxism’, which includes multiculturalism and Political Correctness. In his manifesto, he states: “Multiculturalism (cultural Marxism/political correctness) is the root cause of the ongoing Islamisation of Europe which has resulted in the ongoing Islamic colonisation of Europe through demographic warfare (facilitated by our own leaders).”

Breivik’s custody can be extended before his trial on terrorism charges. Police have said a trial may be a year away.

Related Article: Norway atrocities ‘a wake-up call’ that far right extremists are a huge threat

Bias media coverage of the Norway terror attack…blaming the Muslims

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