Islam Quite Smply Incompatible with Gay Rights

"Around 2015 we were worried about this person. We have followed him, to a degree."

"In more recent times, he was not one of the people we were the most worried about."

Roger Berg, acting head of PST (Norwegian Domestic Security agency)

 

"We are sorry that once again we have to say that a Pride event must be cancelled."

"It is wrong, as the police claim, that this was meant to be a small event. We understand that people are now frustrated and still want to gather."

Oslo Pride

 

"I know how many of you felt when it turned out that the perpetrator belonged to the Islamic community. Many of you [Norway's Muslim community] experienced fear and unrest " 

"You should know this: We stand together, we are one community and we are responsible for the community together."

Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere

People bring flowers and rainbow flags to pay tribute to the victims as they take part in a spontaneous Pride parade, following a shooting at the London Pub, a popular gay bar and nightclub, after the official event was cancelled, in Oslo, Norway, June 25, 2022. Haakon Mosvold Larsen/NTB/via REUTERS

Another shock in Norway. The country's right-wing (Anders Brevik) has already made it abundantly clear how much they fear and detest the entry to the Nordic country of people from the Middle East, people practising a different religion linked to a different history, culture and set of laws, not secular like that of most Western democracy, but theocratic, linked to and a mainstay of Islam which regulates every aspect of the Muslim faithful's lives.

Norway insists that it is open to immigration and migration from the Middle East, prepared to welcome and absorb people radically differently socialized than indigenous Norwegians. And the country's political elite make it a point of pride that their welcome is unconditional. Native Norwegians are not so sure. There has been a lashback of anti-Muslim sentiment, with a hefty third of Norwegians uncomfortable to say the least with the presence of Muslims among them.

The 42-year-old suspect in the attack that took place during an LGBTQ festival in Oslo, was no recent immigrant. He was brought by his family to Norway while still an infant, so he has lived in Norway all his life. He is considered to be a radicalized Islamist, and was recognized as such from 2015 onward by Norwegian police authorities, but not considered to be a high-value threat. As with most of these terrorist actions, he has been described as mentally ill.

 

2 dead, 21 wounded in Norway LGBT nightclub shooting  (photo credit: REUTERS)

 

Married, children, he has lived on the dole for years. Iranian by birth, he was arrested after a shooting in the nightlife district of the country's capital early on Saturday, held on suspicion of murder, attempted murder and terrorism. It was actually people on the scene who followed him after the shooting and took him into initial custody until the arrival of police. Two people were killed and another 21 were injured in what has been named an "Islamist terror act".

Clearly, he was 'radicalized' while a long-time citizen of the country. Clerics established in mosques throughout the non-Islamic world are known to be involved in introducing impressionable young Muslims to the concept of jihad and violent missions in the glories of martyrdom. Police in Oslo have thus far had no luck in their attempts to question the man identified as Zaniar Matapour.

He has made his own demands, however, that he would make a statement to be recorded and videotaped only if it were to be released to the public "with no time delay so it won't be censored or manipulated", his defence lawyer explained. Clearly, a type of 'manifesto' that he believes will deliver a welcome message that Gay Pride and LGBTQ festivities are sinful and not permitted by Islam. Punishment is their due and he assigned himself to deliver that punishment; death to the unbeliever.

The killer opened fire at three locations; outside and inside the London Pub, a popular gay bar in Oslo. Despite which police investigators feel confident in stating it was yet too soon in their investigation to determine whether the man had specifically targeted the gay community. Police found two weapons at the scene, one a fully automatic gun. Despite which, police recommend that all further LGBTQ events be cancelled for the present, not ruling out further and ongoing threats.