The Terror in Norway and the Multiculturalist Scapegoat

Abstract

Against the background of the trial of Anders Behring Breivik for the terrorist mass murder of seventy-seven people in Norway in July 2011, this article examines the perpetrator's rhetoric in relation to ‘multiculturalism’. The material is gathered from a right-wing, Islam-critical website document.no, to which he was a frequent contributor. In addition, the article addresses material from the post-22 July media debate about multiculturalism in the Norwegian national press during the first 100 days. The analysis is thus linked closely to Norway's recent experiences with extremist terror. The theoretical foundation leans on recent discussions of ‘multiculturalism’ and other minority perspectives, but also on Sartre's work on the Jewish experience in France and his exploration of French diversity during with the Second World War.

Keywords:

• terrorism
• multiculturalism
• diversity

Notes

¹ Among the dead youths belonging to AUF (the Labour youth organization) ten had an ethnic minority background.

² He here leans on the writings of Bruce Bawer (2006) and Bat Ye'or (2005) as well as the writings of Peder Nøstvold Jensen aka ‘Fjordman’ from whom he cites approximately 300 pages in his 1,500 page ‘Manifesto’.

³ In the courtroom, the terrorist's friends did not testify to support eventual claims of Anders Behring Breivik being denied media access as they had not heard any complaints concerning such access.

⁴ Honestthinking.no is a website established in February 2005, concerned with ‘culture, politics, science and philosophy’, critical to migration, Islam and diversity. The Editor, Ole Jørgen Anfindsen, has claimed that Africans are less intelligent than Europeans. After 22 July he wrote that he regretted some of the rhetoric he had used earlier, but has largely maintained the same views.

⁵ Ole Jørgen Anfindsen, ‘Truth and democracy’, Aftenposten, 31 October 2011, p. 5.

⁶ A search in the national press was conducted through Retriever, a newspaper search facility, and it revealed a total of 145 articles was found, when combining ‘22 July’ and ‘multikult*’ from 23 July to 29 October. Another search conducted including almost all Norwegian print media (also local newspapers), finds 608 hits combining 22 July with multicult* from 23 July 2011 to 1 June 2012; with a peak in August 2011 (145 hits).

⁷ Vertovec and Wessendorf (2010, p. 3) break the term down topically, to include public recognition, education, social services, public materials, law, religious accommodation, food in public institutions, and broadcasting/media.

⁸ Interview with initiator Neha Naveen, Akers Avis Groruddalen, 28 November 2011.

⁹ ‘Flere frivillige etter terrorangrepene’ [More volunteers after the terror attacks], Vårt Land, 19 September 2011, p. 4.

¹⁰ ABB on Document.no, 13 September 2009.

¹¹ ABB on Document.no, 31 December 2009.

¹² See Dagbladet (mainstream newspaper), 13 January 2012, pp. 8–10.

¹³ ABB on Document.no, 1 October 2010.

¹⁴ ABB on Document.no, 31 December 2009.

¹⁵ Anthony Giddens, ‘Misunderstanding multiculturalism’, Guardian, 14 October 2006. http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2006/oct/14/tonygiddens; accessed 20 May 2012.

¹⁶ ABB, document.no, 29 October 2010; his last entry on the site.

¹⁷ http://www.document.no/om/ (accessed 31 May 2012).

¹⁸ Search string ‘multicult*’, i.e. in Norwegian ‘multikult*’.

¹⁹ ABB, document.no, 25 January 2010.

²⁰ ABB, document.no, 24 January 2010. Grønland is an inner city area with a sizeable proportion of migrants and first generation Norwegians.

²¹ ABB, document.no, 24 January 2010.

²² The paradox: on one hand he expresses fear of living in eastern parts of Oslo, considering them ‘hell’, because of their ethnic composition; on the other hand he would not like a more even distribution of migrants and their offspring. But it becomes less of a paradox when the ‘solution’ is deportation.

²³ ABB, document.no, 31 December 2009.

²⁴ ABB, document.no, 6 November 2009.

²⁵ ABB, document.no, 17 December 2009.

²⁶ ABB, document.no, 25 September 2009.

²⁷ Quoted in ‘Kampen om fortellingen’ [The battle of narratives], Anders Heger, Dagsavisen, 1 October 2011, pp.5–28.

²⁸ Original title ‘Réflexions sur la question Juive’.

²⁹ The book/essay was originally published in France in 1944. This citation is translated from the Norwegian version by the writer of this article.

³⁰ Expressed by Prableen Kaur, deputy leader of the Labor Youth in Oslo, Aftenposten, 21 August 2011, p.28.

³¹ Letter to NRK, 5 August 2011, www.nrk.no/nyheter/norge/1.7738745 (accessed 1 June 2012).

³² Erling Fossen, ‘The Norwegian hatred’, VG, 13 August 2011, p. 48.

³³ On 25 July rallies were organized all over the country to express support for democracy and to commemorate the victims in the government quarters and at Utøya. In Oslo approximately 200,000 are said to have participated, most carrying roses.

³⁴ Erling Fossen, ‘The Norwegian hatred’, VG, 13 August 2011, p. 48.

³⁵ http://www.ssb.no/innvhold/. These figures were collected in the rather immediate aftermath of 22 July, and the situation may have changed later, ‘back to normal’.

³⁶ Ellen Mortensen, quoted in ‘Kjønn og terror’ [Gender and terror] in Klassekampen, 27 October 2011.

³⁷ Justis- og politidepartementet (2010). Felles trygghet—felles ansvar. Handlingsplan for å forebygge radikalisering og voldelig ekstremisme. (Shared Security – Shared Responsibility. Action Plan to Prevent Radicalization and Violent Extremism). Available online at: http://www.regjeringen.no/upload/JD/Vedlegg/Handlingsplaner/HP_ekstremisme.pdf (accessed 1 June 2012).