Right-wing commentators and extremists, who blames Muslims for Friday's terror attacks in Norway, have sought to justify their prejudices - or just blamed them anyway.
Right-wing commentators and extremists, the first to point the finger of blame at ‘them bleeeedin’ Muslims’ for Friday’s terror attacks in Norway, far from admit their prejudicial jumping to conclusions and offering a simple “sorry”, have sought to justify their actions – or just blamed Muslims anyway.
Foremost among them was the EDL, forever claiming to be “not racist” like the BNP, who further exposed themselves for the deluded, hate-filled bigots they are. Incredibly, they have accused Norway of a “cover up” over the attacks.
As Political Scrapbook reports, the official EDL London Facebook page has claimed a “cover up by the left”, laying out supposed evidence for their conspiracy theories, blaming a media “cover up”, and, bizarrely, claiming far-right fanatic Anders Behring Breivik was more like “a rich kid belonging to uaf”.
But it’s not just in the gutter where such sentiments lie.
On the Telegraph blog, James Delingpole, pointedly failing to utter a single word of condemnation of Breivik or his ideology, mentions:
“USS Cole, and the Nairobi and Dar Es Salaam bombings, and the Madrid train bombings, and 7/7, and the ‘Mumbai’ Massacre and the shoebomber plot and the Heathrow plot and the LAX plot and the New York car bomb plot and the Fort Hood massacre and, oh, yeah, 9/11…”
Note the use of quotes around Mumbai. Seems it all went wrong when the colonial names were ditched in Delingpole’s mind.
Even Labour MP Tom Harris (yes, a Labour MP) couldn’t help himself, with a ‘I know I shouldn’t have blamed the Muslims BUT…’ validation of his views:
“I got it wrong and I apologise. I should not have jumped to conclusions, especially not so early on in such a terrible sequence of events.
“But (and of course there’s a “but” or I wouldn’t be writing this), the palpable relief that swept through the left when the identity of the terrorist was made known – a 32-year-old Norwegian christian fundamentalist – was revealing. Here, thank God, was a terrorist we can all hate without equivocation: white, christian and far right-wing.”
And, just as with Delingpole, no real condemnation of Breivik, compared to the paragraphs of condemnation of Islamist terrorism.
In the Sun, meanwhile, despite splashing with “‘Al-Qaeda’ massacre: Norway’s 9/11” on Saturday, today, a massive picture of Amy Winehouse and just half a column on Norway.
As the excellent Charlie Brooker wrote in today’s Guardian:
“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.”
It won’t surprise you that Fox News gets a mention from Brooker as well:
“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.”
Finally, with the likes of the Mail, Express and Tom Harris in mind, Brooker concludes:
“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’.”
Islamist extremism is a real threat, and this blog has called on the Left to examine itself or tackle any assistance, unwittingly or otherwise, it may give to it. But, given that Breivik quoted extensively from right-wing UK newspapers in his ‘manifesto’, you would think this is the time for the Right to do so similarly, rather than beat the anti-Islam drum.
48 Responses to “Norway tragedy: The hard-right haters are still going on about Islam”
Ahmed
Anon E said : “It’s a mindset that would allow an individual to like yourself to suggest that just because you disagree with Ed’s Talking Balls position you immediately claim” … and then later on in his message, he says he will not hold his breath waiting for me to condemn Islamic nutters.
So my message to Anon E is : “It’s a mindset that would allow an individual like yourself to suggest that just because you disagree with my position you immediately claim that I do not condemn Islamic nutters”.
Oh, don’t you just LOVE irony?
Anon E Mouse
Ahmed – Good reply.
But you won’t condemn them will you? And when a human being is flogged then strung up by his neck in public in Iran and his only crime is to born with a different sexual orientation than his tormentors I’ll take no lectures from you with your silly Western Empire rubbish.
You are doing exactly what Leon Wolfson and everyone else does which is not shouting at the unfairness in Islamic countries and by not doing so, even from the safety of a Western democracy, you allow tyranny to continue by your inaction.
Thank goodness there are millions of decent muslims involved in the Arab spring who don’t feel the way you do and want freedom and decency for their people irrespective of the religion they follow.
And like I said you use semantics and lawyerly talk but won’t condemn Islamic unfairness because you’re afraid.
Those muslims fighting for freedom in the Middle East show a bravery in stark contrast to your cowardice Ahmed…
Ahmed
FYI, I am very vociferous against regimes like Saudi Arabia, Iran, The Taliban. That is because I do not see the world in black and white as you do. Unfortunately, people like you do. So if someone agrees with a certain preacher on certain things which are not in line with your views, they suddenly become a Lefty who does not condemn Islamic extremism. Are you sure you’re not from Harry’s Place?
As for the old argument “you live in a democracy that allows you to speak your mind so you should never question your country if it is committing crimes against a country that does not allow freedom of speech” is so old and tiring, I do not think it is even worth my time responding to.
Anon E Mouse
Ahmed – You are correct that I do see the world in less shades of grey than the average Labour supporter which would hardly be hard.
I certainly agree on the war in Iraq which I supported but that was because I’m old fashioned and trusted the Prime Minister I had voted for (three times) to tell the truth. I would say though that your description is just nonsense of Western Imperialism.
The US runs the world without doing anything – I have yet to see a dictator or people worldwide without the modern American trappings like the internet, cell phones, jeans, baseball caps and whose kids watch Disney films and eat McDonalds and smoke Marlboro’s. We have neither the inclination nor the money.
On the black and white I see it as right and wrong. If something is wrong it’s wrong and I do not use Labour smearing to emphasise a point.
No response required sir…..
NoBigGovDuh
Norway tragedy: The hard-right haters are still going on about Islam: http://bit.ly/qukmCx writes @ShamikDas #Oslo #Utoya