New Delhi: The Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC), an advocacy group dedicated to safeguarding India’s pluralist and tolerant ethos, has expressed its shock and horror at the senseless and vicious massacre in Oslo, Norway, by Anders Behring Breivik, a right wing extremist.
“The Indian American Muslim Council, and the Indian Muslims of America extend our condolences and sympathies to the families of the innocent victims of this great tragedy, and stand shoulder to shoulder with the great people of Norway in this time of crisis,” said Shaheen Khateeb, President, IAMC.
The IAMC also expressed its concern about the claimed ideological connections between Norway’s and India’s right wing parties.
IAMC is the largest advocacy group of Indian Americans in the US with chapters in ten US States.
Brevik devoted 102 pages of his manifesto hailing India’s Hindu nationalism, and called the ‘Hindutva’ groups closer to those of his own Justiciar Knights. Breivik further considered the Hindutva groups as a critical partner in a universal struggle to end democratically elected governments all over the world. “It is essential that the European and Indian resistance movements learn from each other and cooperate as much as possible. Our goals are more or less identical,” wrote Brevik.
Brevik had also put links to BJP and RSS website in its manifesto.
“IAMC is deeply disturbed at the emerging nexus between European, and Indian fascist groups. We urge Law Enforcement agencies in India, Norway, and all democratic nations be allowed to infiltrate and contain this scourge of racist and anti-Muslim bigotry,” said Khateeb.
I went to bed in a terrible world and awoke inside a worse one. At the time of writing, details of the Norwegian atrocity are still emerging, although the identity of the perpetrator has now been confirmed and his motivation seems increasingly clear: a far-right anti-Muslim extremist who despised the ruling party.
Mourners at a memorial service at Oslo cathedral. (Courtesy: AP/Guardian)
Presumably he wanted to make a name for himself, which is why I won’t identify him. His name deserves to be forgotten. Discarded. Deleted. Labels like “madman”, “monster”, or “maniac” won’t do, either. There’s a perverse glorification in terms like that. If the media’s going to call him anything, it should call him pathetic; a nothing.
On Friday night’s news, they were calling him something else. He was a suspected terror cell with probable links to al-Qaida. Countless security experts queued up to tell me so. This has all the hallmarks of an al-Qaida attack, they said. Watching at home, my gut feeling was that that didn’t add up. Why Norway? And why was it aimed so specifically at one political party? But hey, they’re the experts. They’re sitting there behind a caption with the word “EXPERT” on it. Every few minutes the anchor would ask, “What kind of picture is emerging?” or “What sense are you getting of who might be responsible?” and every few minutes they explained this was “almost certainly” the work of a highly-organised Islamist cell.
In the aftermath of the initial bombing, they proceeded to wrestle with the one key question: why do Muslims hate Norway? Luckily, the experts were on hand to expertly share their expert solutions to plug this apparent plot hole in the ongoing news narrative.
Why do Muslims hate Norway? There had to be a reason.
Norway was targeted because of its role in Afghanistan. Norway was targeted because Norwegian authorities had recently charged an extremist Muslim cleric. Norway was targeted because one of its newspapers had reprinted the controversial Danish cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad.
Norway was targeted because, compared to the US and UK, it is a “soft target” – in other words, they targeted it because no one expected them to.
When it became apparent that a shooting was under way on Utoya island, the security experts upgraded their appraisal. This was no longer a Bali-style al-Qaida bombing, but a Mumbai-style al-Qaida massacre. On and on went the conjecture, on television, and in online newspapers, including this one. Meanwhile, on Twitter, word was quickly spreading that, according to eyewitnesses, the shooter on the island was a blond man who spoke Norwegian. At this point I decided my initial gut reservations about al-Qaida had probably been well founded. But who was I to contradict the security experts? A blond Norwegian gunman doesn’t fit the traditional profile, they said, so maybe we’ll need to reassess . . . but let’s not forget that al-Qaida have been making efforts to actively recruit “native” extremists: white folk who don’t arouse suspicion. So it’s probably still the Muslims.
Soon, the front page of Saturday’s Sun was rolling off the presses. “Al-Qaeda” Massacre: NORWAY’S 9/11 – the weasel quotes around the phrase “Al Qaeda” deemed sufficient to protect the paper from charges of jumping to conclusions.
By the time I went to bed, it had become clear to anyone within glancing distance of the internet that this had more in common with the 1995 Oklahoma bombing or the 1999 London nail-bombing campaign than the more recent horrors of al-Qaida.
While I slept, the bodycount continued to rise, reaching catastrophic proportions by the morning. The next morning I switched on the news and the al-Qaida talk had been largely dispensed with, and the pundits were now experts on far-right extremism, as though they’d been on a course and qualified for a diploma overnight.
Some remained scarily defiant in the face of the new unfolding reality. On Saturday morning I saw a Fox News anchor tell former US diplomat John Bolton that Norwegian police were saying this appeared to be an Oklahoma-style attack, then ask him how that squared with his earlier assessment that al-Qaida were involved. He was sceptical. It was still too early to leap to conclusions, he said. We should wait for all the facts before rushing to judgment. In other words: assume it’s the Muslims until it starts to look like it isn’t – at which point, continue to assume it’s them anyway.
If anyone reading this runs a news channel, please, don’t clog the airwaves with fact-free conjecture unless you’re going to replace the word “expert” with “guesser” and the word “speculate” with “guess”, so it’ll be absolutely clear that when the anchor asks the expert to speculate, they’re actually just asking a guesser to guess. Also, choose better guessers. Your guessers were terrible, like toddlers hypothesising how a helicopter works. I don’t know anything about international terrorism, but even I outguessed them.
As more information regarding the identity of the terrorist responsible for the massacre comes to light, articles attempting to explain his motives are starting to appear online. And beneath them are comments from readers, largely expressing outrage and horror. But there are a disturbing number that start, “What this lunatic did was awful, but . . .”
These “but” commenters then go on to discuss immigration, often with reference to a shaky Muslim-baiting story they’ve half-remembered from the press. So despite this being a story about an anti-Muslim extremist killing Norwegians who weren’t Muslim, they’ve managed to find a way to keep the finger of blame pointing at the Muslims, thereby following a narrative lead they’ve been fed for years, from the overall depiction of terrorism as an almost exclusively Islamic pursuit, outlined by “security experts” quick to see al-Qaida tentacles everywhere, to the fabricated tabloid fairytales about “Muslim-only loos” or local councils “banning Christmas”.
We’re in a frightening place. Guesswork won’t lead us to safety.
BH inputs: Indian national daily Indian Express too in its lead story had attributed it to the global jihad, but when things got clear later, although published the story did not retract its earlier version.
OSLO, July 24 (Xinhua) — Norway has plunged in grief as its people come to terms with life after the massive bomb blast and shooting spree on Friday killed at least 93 people.
Across Oslo, the Norwegian capital, makeshift memorials have been put up by residents near the sites damaged by the blast, and at key locations such as the country’s parliament and royal palace.
Flowers were offered and candles lit in remembrance of the 93 persons killed so far in what are described as the country’s worst attacks since World War II.
The Norwegian national flag flew at half-mast in honor of the victims.
REMEMBRANCE AFTER SHOCK
“Today we allow ourselves to honor and remember the dead,” Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg said Sunday at a memorial service for the victims at Oslo Domkirke, the city’s historic cathedral.
The service was also attended by Norway’s King Harald and Queen Sonja, as well as the country’s top politicians.
“Each and every one that is taken away from us is a tragedy. And altogether, this is a national tragedy,” Stoltenberg said.
He added he was proud to live in the country that showed courage in the midst of such difficulty.
Outside, at least 2,000 people lined the streets leading to the cathedral, whose spire loomed against an overcast sky. Despite the crowds, the atmosphere was somber and quiet.
“It is very, very quiet today in Oslo. This is not usual. It seems like this has affected all the people here,” said Asbjorn Bergseng, a resident who stood with mourners in front of the cathedral.
The feeling of quiet shock was felt by others like Marit Nicolaysen, who said Friday’s tragedy made her “feel like other Norwegians: very, very sad.”
But she added, “I think we all stand together in this situation. We do not know what this will mean for our society but are hoping for the best.”
Above all, few people can imagine that an attack of this nature could happen in peaceful Norway.
“We are not used to dealing with anything like this,” said Christina Oerwen, a Swedish citizen living in Oslo. “It is something you never thought would happen in this part of the world.”
But the facts of the case are indeed shocking. On Friday, a massive explosion rocked downtown Oslo, killing seven and damaging key government buildings including the offices of the prime minister.
Hours later, a gunman dressed in police uniform blasted his way across the tiny island of Utoeya, some 40 km west of the capital, in an orgy of violent shooting that left 86 persons dead.
At the time, the island was hosting a summer camp for the youth wing of Norway’s ruling Labour Party. Stoltenberg himself had been scheduled to address the attendees, most aged between 14 and 19 years old, on Saturday.
“It is impossible to comprehend, it is like a nightmare. Words cannot express how I feel,” Stoltenberg told a press conference Saturday.
Although shattered glass litters the worst-hit streets, and buildings with blown-out windows are clearly visible, clean-up operations are well underway.
SOLIDARITY
Oslo residents are also keen to express solidarity with the victims and show that life must continue as normal. Several of them spoke to Xinhua Saturday, about how they felt in the immediate aftermath of the attacks.
“I feel absolute disbelief and shock,” said Hildegunn Toftning, who was attending an impromptu public-led memorial for victims at the steps of Oslo Domkirke, along with her children.
“Who could possibly do something like this?” she said.
“From what we heard, this is the work of a very, very sick person. And that is what it takes to do something like this, I believe,” she added.
In fact, Norwegian police have arrested the lone gunman and identified him as Anders Behring Breivik, a 32-year-old Norwegian with extreme right-wing and conservative Christian beliefs. He is also said to be responsible for the bomb blast.
Now, there is a feeling that the country must come together for peace.
About a kilometer away, in front of Norway’s Royal Palace, a teenage student from Azerbaijan sat on the pavement making posters with the words: ‘Nei til terror’.
“In Norwegian, it means ‘no to terror’,” said the student who gave his name as Amir. “This event has stressed us. Nobody wants this to happen again … nobody wants any terror, any blood or guns.”
Norway is a country of just 4.8 million people, and its citizens regard themselves as a close-knit community with liberal values and a reputation for transparency in public life.
The country has been led by socialist parties since World War II, and it has a history of being a peace broker and mediator in overseas conflicts such as in the Middle East and Sri Lanka.
Its healthy economy is underpinned by vast off-shore oil reserves and the country’s social policies make it one of the world’s richest welfare states.
This is a country that is proud of what it has achieved and wants to maintain its reputation as an open-society.
“I still feel safe in Oslo because it is one of the best and safest cities in the world. Nothing can change my mind,” Amir noted.
These thoughts were echoed by Per Arne Dahl, a priest at the local Trinity Church and Chaplain at Stortinget, the Norwegian Parliament.
“We have always felt Norway is an open and safe country, so this is a new experience for us,” he said.
“It will lead us into new debates, new reflections on how we can take care of the freedom and openness we have, and at the same time, protect us against evil and terrorism,” he added.
A picture of Anders Behring Breivik taken from a book downloaded from a link posted on the Norwegian discussion website, www.freak.no, and entitled "2083 – A European Declaration of Independence", is seen in this screen grab made July 23, 2011. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
Suspect admits carrying out Oslo attacks:
The suspect in Friday’s bomb attack and shooting massacre in Oslo, Norway, has admitted responsibility and will appear in a court here Monday, according to authorities and his lawyer.
Anders Behring Breivik, 32, will appear before the judges to “explain himself.” If convicted, he could face a maximum sentence of 21 years in jail, authorities say.
“He is prepared to testify in open court about his motives and why he committed the actions he has admitted to,” Geir Lippestad, Breivik’s defense attorney, told reporters Sunday.
Earlier on Saturday, Lippestad said Breivik “has admitted it was atrocious to have performed these actions, but in his own head, it was necessary.”
Norwegian police have confirmed Breivik’s admission and said he claimed to have acted alone.
“He has admitted that he was responsible for the bomb attack and for the killing of people on Utoeya island,” a police spokesman told a press conference in Oslo on Sunday.
Police said Breivik did not resist when armed officers arrested him on the tiny holiday island of Utoeya 40 km west of Oslo.
By that time, he had killed 86 people, mostly teenagers attending a summer camp for the youth wing of Norway’s ruling Labor Party, in a shooting spree that lasted about 90 minutes, according to eye witnesses.
An off-duty policeman was among those killed in a shootout, according to Sigve Bolstad, chairman of the Oslo Police Association.
Breivik is also held responsible for Friday’s massive bomb blast in downtown Oslo that killed seven people and damaged key government buildings including the office of the Norwegian prime minister.
Moreover, a total of 97 others have been wounded in the twin attacks.
But Lippestad told Norwegian public broadcaster NRK that while admitting his actions were “atrocious,” Breivik “feels that what he has done does not deserve punishment.”
It is still unclear what his motives were, and authorities are unwilling to publicly speculate about it.
“I will not comment or speculate on the motives because it is very important not to jump to conclusions and to await the results of the on-going investigation,” Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg told journalists on Sunday, following a visit to the bomb-damaged government quarters.
An off-duty policeman was among those killed in a shootout, according to Sigve Bolstad, chairman of the Oslo Police Association.
Breivik is also held responsible for Friday’s massive bomb blast in downtown Oslo that killed seven people and damaged key government buildings including the office of the Norwegian prime minister.
Moreover, a total of 97 others have been wounded in the twin attacks.
But Lippestad told Norwegian public broadcaster NRK that while admitting his actions were “atrocious,” Breivik “feels that what he has done does not deserve punishment.”
It is still unclear what his motives were, and authorities are unwilling to publicly speculate about it.
“I will not comment or speculate on the motives because it is very important not to jump to conclusions and to await the results of the on-going investigation,” Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg told journalists on Sunday, following a visit to the bomb-damaged government quarters.
PROFILE OF THE SUSPECT
Breivik is described as an ethnic Norwegian. Photos of him on social networking sites and local media show him with pale, clean-cut features and straight blonde hair.
According to messages posted on social networking sites and statements made to Norwegian media by persons who know him, Breivik, a conservative Christian, holds extreme right-wing views.
He enjoys weightlifting, video-games and hunting, holds strongly nationalist and anti-Muslim views, and is against multiculturalism.
Breivik posted a 1,500-page manifesto on the Internet Friday, describing the planning of the attacks and his personal philosophy.
Online searches revealed that Breivik has previously been in contact with far-right groups in Britain. He has also made derogatory remarks about leading Norwegian politicians.
According to Norwegian media, Breivik’s parents divorced when he was very young and he has subsequently had almost no contact with his father, who now lives in southern France.
Both his father and mother said they are bewildered and appalled to hear of their son’s violent actions.
Breivik had studied at an Oslo-based business college, and wanted to be an entrepreneur. But after failing at several businesses, he moved out of Oslo in 2009 and set up a farm in Asta, some 130 km north of the capital.
Police say six tons of fertilizer were delivered here in May and believe they may have been used in making explosives for Friday’s bomb attack.
OSLO, July 23 (Xinhua) — The death toll of the twin attacks Friday in Norway may surpass 87 after more victims were discovered in the shooting spree two hours after a bomb explosion that ripped buildings in the heart of Norway’s government.
The figure was revised after police said at least 80 people were killed in the shooting spree at a youth camp some 40 kilometers west of the Norwegian capital city Oslo.
(Courtesy:Xinhua/AFP)
The shooting is of “catastrophic dimensions” and many more victims had been discovered, Police director Oystein Maeland told a news conference early Saturday.
“The updated information we know now is at least 80,” he said.
Local police had put the death toll of the shooting spree in the Buskerud county, near Oslo, at 10.
A gunman wearing police uniforms and police identification landed on a small island about 40 kilometers west of Oslo, shooting people at a youth camp two hours after the deadly bomb explosion rocked the government building quarters in the Norwegian capital city.
A large number of people were injured in the incident.
The gunman in his 30s was described carrying a pistol and a rifle with telescopic sight. He started shooting a few minutes after he landed on the island known as Utoeya, in the Buskerud county.
The culprit, who has a Norwegian look and speaks an eastern dialect of the Norwegian language, was arrested later by police.
Eyewitnesses said the man fired several shots into participants of an annual event of the Workers’ Youth League. Some terrified young people jumped into water for safety.
At a press conference on Friday evening, Sveinung Sponheim, deputy police chief in Oslo, said they feared there was a bomb on the island.
Police were checking whether a likely correlation exists between the shooting incident and the bomb explosion which turned an area of downtown Oslo into a war-like zone.
Anders Behring Breivik, 32, who according to local media was arrested by police after the shooting in Utoeya, is seen in this handout photo released to AFP on July 23, 2011. (Xinhua/AFP Photo)
At least seven people were killed in the bomb explosion and 16 others injured, according to a police spokesman. Two of the injured were in critical conditions.
Police said early Saturday that the deadly blast that shook Oslo city center on Friday was caused by a car bomb.
Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg called on Norwegians to remain calm and do not let panic spread.
Until now, a Norwegian man who has links to right-wing extremis had been arrested.
“Our information is that he is a Norwegian,” Justice Minister Knut Storberget told a news conference. “I don’t know so much about him.”
Earlier reports cited police as saying that the terror acts were carried out by a home-grown terrorist.
Stoltenberg termed the incident as “a national disaster.”
At a press conference Saturday morning, Stoltenberg said what happened on Friday was a national tragedy which Norway has never experienced after World War II.
“It’s extraordinary hard for me because Utoeya is a place I have been every summer since 1974,” said the prime minister from the Labor Party.
Now a youth paradise has been turned into a hell in a few hours, he added.
Stoltenberg said it was difficult to express in words how much sympathy he had for those affected
