Beyond Oslo

Anders Behring Breivik is an answer to the racism question being posed to Europe for over decades. Rarely do the western media term him a terrorist who pronounced clear-cut agenda backed by meticulously crafted ideological doctrine. Conflicting reports from the Norway’s crime scene dispute the term ‘lone wolf’ as he might have been aided by one or two other terrorists. The perpetrator has no qualms about his gruesome act and demands a peculiar kind of uniform to wear during court hearings.

Blame-the-victim mentality poses question to immigrants for failure to integrate but forgets to recall that Jews faced executions despite being well-integrated and culturally assimilated members of its society. Shakespeare’s ‘The Merchant of Venice’ records instance of prejudice against Jews. A few centuries earlier, Muslims had faced similar fate in Spain.

Turk origin nationals of Germany suffer discrimination at the hand of far-right nationalists. The Norwegian villain may inspire some as did a handful of bloggers in his own case.

Not long ago in Stuttgart, capital of Baden-Wuerttemberg state, police seized weapons, ammunition and drugs from 18 Germans claiming affiliation with ‘Standarte Wuerrttemberg.’ Unlike a terrorist network elsewhere in Muslim Asia or Al-Maghreb, access to dual-use chemicals in open market is least of concern for extremists, especially with blonde hair and Caucasian skin. Though United States enjoys relatively better conditions for immigrants, its share of far-right extremists has grown significantly.

Breivik is not just Norway’s nightmare but for all Scandinavian nations which ignored dangerous trends shaping up in the region. True Finns, a far-right party, bagged 19 per cent votes in April elections, complementing a widespread inclination across Europe.

While shocked mother of Breivik has refused to see him, Norwegian premier Jens Stoltenberg has advised politicians to think before they speak. Referring to often harsh discussions regarding the status of immigrants, he sought a national, and even a global introspection, as to "what we have thought, said and written."

Today’s Europe is home to 20 million Muslims, most maintaining large and growing families in relatively dismal conditions. With reduced growth rate of ‘white’ Europeans, young but culturally distinct immigrants are set to become engine of many EU economies. Upward spike in their standard of living may provoke Breivik copy-cats. The same freedom of expression when exhibited through caricatures of Prophet Mohammad (Peace be Upon Him) or Islamophobic films angered Muslims is set to hurt Europe’s trademark secularism. It is only a matter of time that far-right Christian fundamentalists face similar check as faced by their Muslim counterparts in Europe.

While Europe and North America cannot escape identifying far-right activism either as extremism or fundamentalism, the Christian west needs to exhibit a political will similar to the one against Islamic terrorism. Grand strategy to deal with ‘Islamic terrorism’ or ‘Christian fascism’ would have more takers than a decade ago. For Norway, the best revenge could be to devise strategy to deal with multi-faced extremism engulfing the world where majority loves peace and co-existence.

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