It actually happened. Terrorism has hit this part of the world. Although the 2011 attack happened in Norway, its effects were very much felt here in Denmark since the Scandinavian ties between the two countries are quite strong. Denmark was in shock. But the shock became even greater when the public realized that the foul act was not committed by the usual suspects from Al Qaida and the rest of the Muslim world, as it was initially proclaimed by certain “experts” and the media. In fact, the attack came from quite the opposite side, a right-wing activist who has for years been fighting against the Islamic “threat”, although his fight had until now primarily been done by words. And the targets of the attack were the reigning Norwegian Labour Party and its youth followers, apparently because of their pro-immigrant views.
In the days following the incident it was interesting to notice how media, both in Denmark and the rest of the world, started omitting the word “terror” when referring to the attack. As if that word was reserved for actions of Muslims and as a consequence could not be applied in this situation. The attack in Norway became instead the work of a psychopathic, mentally disturbed person. While I certainly agree with that assessment since I truly believe that anyone who kills innocent people, regardless of their religion, cannot be truly sane, I cannot help to notice that terrorism seems to have become synonymous with Islam.
When it had become obvious that the motivation for the terrorist attack in Norway came, at least partially, from the increasing radicalization found in the right-wing milieu in Norway, the nationalistic Danish People’s Party was naturally confronted with the question whether their own harsh anti-immigrant/anti-Islamic rhetoric contributed to similar atmosphere here in Denmark. This prompted Pia Kjærsgaard, the leader of DPP, to declare that it is wrong to generalize in this manner and that actions of a mentally disturbed person cannot in any way be associated with views of a democratic party (DPP). This statement is quite paradoxical since a cornerstone of the political platform of DPP is a much generalized negative view of foreigners in general and Muslims in particular.
So my big question here is: why has it become legit, or at least common praxis, to generalize Muslims as terrorists and Islam as a religion of violence based on actions of a few misguided individuals. Why is it that an attack accredited to Al-Qaida never gets discarded as an act committed by mentally disturbed individuals, even though the Norway-attacker had as much a political motive as they do. Instead the entire Muslim population is automatically incriminated and feels pressured to distance them self from the incident. I believe that the vast majority of Muslims are tired of this unjust stereotype which should not have a place in our modern world. Just as nationalistic parties like Danish People’s Party don’t feel obligated to distance them self for the attack in Norway, I will never apologize for terrorist actions committed by individuals with Muslim background, since they have nothing to do with me. They don’t represent me, my views or my religion, which is a religion of peace and harmony.
