Having mentioned in a recent post that I have friends in Norway so therefore could personalize the horror there should the news of mass murder not ring familiar enough, it’s fitting I follow thoughts prompted by one of those friends as my mind wanders plains dotted with roving herds of psychonutjobs.
It was a line in Bobby’s answer to my question, “How’s Norway?” that sent me in the direction today’s blog should take:
I am happy for the way Norway pulled together and is moving on, as Obama put it that Norway has shown the true way to overcome terror by uniting and not hating, though I contemplate on the fact if we would have the same peace, unity and love had the bomber been anything BUT white….
Hm.
Bobby is Norwegian, but not white. Born In Norway to parents of Indian and Pakistani origins, he has spent his life in a perfect environment in which to develop a perspective that takes in the wider picture.
I am ok, too, less surprised then many others or to be honest not surprised at all at the event. this is and has been a peaceful country for many many years but I have never been under the false pretense that we are “always safe in Norway” …
No illusions of guaranteed safety may sound merely sensible to many living in the world today, but it is understandable that many Norwegians could have been lulled into buying those. For long a racially homogeneous society of well-educated, industrious folks tempered by cold rather than heat with a small population (4.9 million, the second least populated country in Europe) and Christian since shortly before the year 1000, the country is known for keeping its head down having declared itself neutral in both world wars and opting out of the EU.
(And, yes, I do know about the Sami people, the occupation of Norway and the Free Norwegian Force, but don’t feel an entire history lesson appropriate right now.)
As the Wiki indicates, Norway is a very white place, and we’re not talking snow, although there is a lot of that, as Magnar has mentioned. There are immigrants, of course, but of the 12.2% of incoming residents less than half (5.8%) come from places where people tend to brown eyes over blue, dark hair over blond and complexions more colorful than alabaster, and one might assume that those folks have been paying attention to any Nazi-like grumbling.
While 4,081,698 Norwegians self-identify as some flavor of Christian, 98,953 say Islam is their persuasion of preference, a ratio some find intolerable in the usual intolerant ways.
Given the numbers, it would seem odd that hot on the heels of the bombing and massacre an easy assumption implied a Muslim have been on the business end of the weapons.
When the attack began last Friday afternoon with a huge car-bomb detonated outside the main government buildings, Norway’s Muslim community braced itself for the worst, assuming that what had happened was the work of Islamist militants.
It was an assumption made by many around the world.
There’s a knee jerk for you, and one obviously not just a white response. (And that is not an “off the hook” for Fox, by the way.) It’s no wonder Muslims react with dread and non-Muslims jump from headline to jihad … just one reason those who aspire to journalism (or pretend to) should keep their fucking mouths shut until there is is actually something to talk about.
Mehtab Afsar, secretary-general of the Islamic Council of Norway, was leading a delegation abroad when he started receiving phone calls from Oslo from frightened members of the Muslim community.
“We heard some Muslims had already been beaten up in Oslo,” he said, “and women who were scared phoned me asking for help.”
“I was just hoping it was not true.”
Egomaniacal ass hats do come in all colors, shapes and sizes (although the overwhelming majority dangle dicks), a lesson that should have been learned sixteen years ago in Oklahoma City.
Don’t know about you, but it’s very hard for me to imagine a non-blond, ethnic-looking dude strolling into a camp on a Nordic island and getting everyone to gather round, cop uniform or not. The fact that the fuck wad was the picture of Hitler’s dream boy made it easier in a world where the darker the worser.
But, to Bobby’s thought provoking comment …
Norway’s got the warm fuzzies going now, all solidarity and support, with the mayor of Oslo telling CNN when relating the eventual fate of the mass murderer: “We’re going to punish him with democracy and love.”
My not-so-white friend wondering over how this would be playing out had the monster not looked so much like everyone else, practiced a different religion and been an immigrant instead of a “thoroughbred Norwegian” deserves more than a little thought.
Would the following still be the prime minister’s claim?
Norway’s prime minister pledged that his country would remain “an open society” in the wake of Friday’s massacre in Oslo and a nearby youth camp but said the bloodshed has changed the nation.
Does the fact that the monster grew from within, not without, make it easier to close ranks and pull together? Is it harder to point fingers when no matter how many do it comes back inside the circle?
For that matter, does a relatively conservative Christian country have any impetus to crack down on conservative Christians? Is the world ready to deal with the reality of Christian terrorists?
Many Christians cringe when Norwegian mass-murderer Anders Breivik is described as a “Christian terrorist.” But that is what he is.
…
Breivik, in his manifesto, writes of al Qaeda with admiration, as if he would love to create a Christian version of their religious cadre. Though he only occasionally quotes scripture, and admires the church in Norway largely as a cultural center for Christendom, he is captivated by Christian history. Breivik is fascinated with the Crusades and imagines himself to be a member of the Knights Templar, the crusader army of a thousand years ago. He would like to have a Christian army comparable to al Qaeda’s Muslim militia.
So if bin Laden was a Muslim terrorist, Breivik is a Christian terrorist.
And if Anders had been an Abdullah … even an acting-alone-singular-insane-egomaniacal-fanatic … would Norway look like it does today?
In addition to reading Bobby here, you can check out his blog where he talks about his varied interests … body building, fashion guru-ness and other interests, which occasionally include arguing with me. His last post addresses the issues we’re talking about here … )
A collection of my short stories:
I'm in this one, too ...
And I'm in here, as well ...
Paradise Preoccupied 
Hmmmmm ok it is somewhat strange to read about…. me, even though its not about me, but I think you know what I mean ~laughs~ and you spell checked me (thank you), I am honored to be mentioned in your post and not to mention a ping back to my blog. I glad that more people are contemplating that fact as a friend of mine so fittingly put it “it is easy to unite because Norway has not been tested. had the bomber been a Mohammed and not a Anders, THEN democracy and unity would have been tested” and as you said the terror is from within and not without, directing hate towards a mass becomes somewhat hard when 90% of people here see the same features in the mirror as the terrorist.
Thank you again dear
Thank you for provoking the thoughts, Bobby.
My pleasure dear Sandy
Excellent post! Thanks for sharing Bobby’s link, Sandra. It’s wonderful to read something that is written from the perspective of a higher level of thought. It brought tears to my eyes.
Bobby’s always worth a read, Marianne, and quite the prompt for me often …
~smiles~ you flatter me my dear
It was very kind of her to share my link and yes her written is wonderful 🙂
I have been thinking what I can write. All I can think of is sticking my dick in your mouth and my nose in your coke bag.
You obviously need a compass leading in directions more appropriate, Ian. An unwelcome dick anywhere near my teeth is ground to burger by my very healthy set and my coke bag has been empty since about 1985. I’m thinking you’ve not been thinking at all, but rather dreaming in unhelpful ways.
Ian you are what makes me question Darwin and evolution. Because hell if you are a part of the human race, who are supposed to be the most evolved creatures on earth, well then we are up a human excrement creek without a propulsion device….
ffs
Hey Sandy
I came across this and I had to post it
http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/393042/july-25-2011/norwegian-muslish-gunman-s-islam-esque-atrocity
Have a watch and tell me what you think, it just fits in perfectly of what we have been talking about a comical madness needed to survive these wonderful times of ours
Thanks, and I’ll watch it when my Internet allows connectivity enough for downloads.
By the way, “Sandy” is not a nickname I relate to. If you want to call me something other than Sandra, Sands is the moniker that rings for me.
Now you tell me? i have been calling you Dear Sandy like from a week after stumbling onto your blog lol….
You’ve now crossed into the inside circle, Bobby.
ooooo nice… do we get cookies?? ~smiles~
Of course …
Well its good to be in the inner circle then 🙂
It gets a bit dizzying in here, but it is fun and the cookies are a bonus …
Thank you for writing this. As one with a very “not white” family who are Islam as well, it is lovely to read something that takes a balanced perspective.
Great questions asked very well.
I recently wrote about being an atheist in a Muslim home, hoping to spread some balance in a humorous (I’m not good at writing humour) way.
Hmmmm. Very interesting, Robyn. I’ve never given much thought to atheists grown from Muslim roots since those who’ve shucked Christianity share my experience, but find the idea compelling now that you’ve mentioned it. Is there a Richard Dawkins in the Islamic world?
Oh, I am SO SORRY – I wasn’t clear – I am the atheist – I’ve never been a Muslim – I married a Muslim!
My “roots” are High Church of England, if I have any religious roots at all!
No, Robyn, you were perfectly clear. You just started me pondering the idea of atheists in the Islamic world and would be very interested on anyone’s take on it. In the “Christian” realm, atheists and agnostics make up a growing group who’ve been raised in, then rejected, the doctrine. I’m now wondering how common this might be with Muslims … former Muslims … whatever …
Arrrrrrrrrrrrr – good question – I have no idea really and I doubt if John knows – he has spent too many years “on the run” to keep up with that sort of news.
I think there are a lot of “lapsed” Muslims – not sure if they are actually atheists or agnostics, but certainly lapsed. Just like lots of lapsed Catholics – who in Ireland are now formally withdrawing from the church due to the Cloyne Report.
I see often what could be thought to be “lapsed Muslims” here, but it seems they’re only lapsed while passing time partying on an island … which they do as often as possible, sometimes even during Ramadan. How many stand and proclaim themselves atheists or agnostics would be very interesting to learn …
To interject my 2 cents on the topic. The way I see it the Islamic is very true to its age if you compare it with Christianity, meaning if you look at the age difference the Muslim world is in many ways is where the christian world was 3-400 years ago (or probably less with western influence) However the proclamation of atheism as far as I can tell dose not really exist in the same manner as it does in the christian world. of what I can see there are more or less three categories of Muslims. Mochmins, which are the ones who follow the law to the letter (and no I do not mean jihadists) but they pray five times, follow fast and do not touch alcohol and/or other such stimulating substance, there are muslims whom you could call muslim light, they muslim by the fact that they believe in the prophet, recite the qalma. But don’t necessarily pray 5 times or follow fast. They don’t drink or eat pork but are not to focused on everything that is derived from pork IE: gelatin. Then there are those who pretend to be Muslims which would be the closest thing to atheist just not as honest about it.
Me I think I am in a category onto myself :p
Thank you, Bobby.
I have to add another category, however, one I see often that pretends to be the first but actually drink like crazy, party til they puke whenever they can and eat whatever the hell they want … as long as reports aren’t likely to get back to their homeland. In other words, hypocrites … which are far too common in all religions.
You are, indeed, in a category unto yourself!
Yes thats category 3 the pretenders, they are very muslim when their parents are watching and when it suits them. ~smiles~ Thank you dear, I like it that way, I may be a lot of things, but at least I try to be as honest possible about it. even my parents know that, if they ask a direct question they will get a honest and direct answer
Thanks, Bobby … but do you know of any who have rejected the religion completely and openly declared atheism? Asking again, “Is there a Richard Dawkins in the Muslim world?”
Yes, I forget her name but one of the people Anders Breivik looked up to was a women who was a former muslim and has rejected islam. Sorry but I can not remember her name. But I know there are a few here and there
Hm … that’s an interesting reference.