The bombing in downtown Oslo and the shooting massacre at a youth camp outside the capital were intended to start a revolution to inspire Norwegians to retake their country from Muslims and other immigrants, the suspect said.
What was your reaction, and given the heated rhetoric on Muslims and multiculturalism in this country, what are your thoughts on preventing such acts here?

Last Friday Andres Behring Breivik became the latest in an infamous list of religiously motivated murderers. Early reports claimed Breivik was a “right wing Christian”; in actuality he appears to be unconnected to any branch of the Christian church. As his trial unfolds, I suspect we’ll learn that Breivik’s deepest religious affections center around what he believes to be pure Norwegian culture.

In 1948 Nathuram Vinayak Godse, a committed Hindu, assassinated India’s hero, Mahatma Gandhi, in part because Gandhi wasn’t Hindu enough. In 1969 Charles Manson, in the name of a perverted Scientology, ordered his disciples to commit multiple murders in Southern California. In 2002, John Allen Muhammad, a convert to the Nation of Islam, went on a “jihad” sniper spree in the Washington, DC area, gunning down ten people.

All of these crimes (and innumerable more we might include) are hideous. None of them can fairly be employed to attack religious belief or to make the false claim that humanity’s worst crimes have been committed in the name of God. Many have correctly pointed out that the twentieth century’s most astounding atrocities were committed by irreligious men and nations.

History reveals that all nations, cultures, and religions are capable of producing madmen and terrorists. This fact speaks more clearly to the nature of men and women than it does any particular religion.

As I’ve argued in this space before, we must fiercely defend our open society from those who would attempt to muzzle religious or political speech. Simultaneously, we must be entirely intolerant of violence or other acts of terrorism, regardless of the source. Immigration of Muslims or others cannot be restricted (Mr. Breivik’s goal). Conversely, conspiracy against our nation or any of its citizens cannot be permitted.

The cost of securing and maintaining our political and religious freedoms has always been high. The American experiment, imperfect as it is, has demonstrated that it’s an expense worth paying.

The bombing in downtown Oslo and the shooting massacre at a youth camp outside the capital were intended to start a revolution to inspire Norwegians to retake their country from Muslims and other immigrants, the suspect said.

What was your reaction, and given the heated rhetoric on Muslims and multiculturalism in this country, what are your thoughts on preventing such acts here?

I’m stumped. Struck by the sheer irrationality of Mr. Breivik’s act — opening fire on a youth retreat to promote his beliefs? — I’m hard put to develop a rationale for how to prevent such mad behavior.

Then there’s this question: How can you prevent the spread of right wing extremist views that spur terrorism where freedom of expression is one of the cherished privileges of an open and democratic society like ours?

The bombing in downtown Oslo and the shooting massacre at a youth camp outside the capital were intended to start a revolution to inspire Norwegians to retake their country from Muslims and other immigrants, the suspect said.
What was your reaction, and given the heated rhetoric on Muslims and multiculturalism in this country, what are your thoughts on preventing such acts here?

Violence begins in the mind.

I remember visiting the Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem and seeing in one room newspaper cartoons of Jews being depicted as rats. It’s not a big step from that depiction to the need to extinguish a whole race.  Today throughout much of the Middle East, Jews are still depicted in such non-human ways.

In our own country, anti-Muslim violence has already begun in the minds of people of faith, politicians and bloggers like Robert Spencer, who runs a website called Jihad Watch. Anders Breivik quoted him more than 60 times in his writings. To believe, like Spencer and others do, that Muslims have no respect for human life, then it becomes a short step to wondering why should anyone respect their lives? The movement towards terror has already begun, not from the Muslims, but from anti-Islamic Christians.

Certainly we believe in the freedom of speech. That makes it all the more necessary for people of faith to confront lies and demonizations wherever they find them.  Not to do so is to become complicit in the very terror that we abhor.

The bombing in downtown Oslo and the shooting massacre at a youth camp outside the capital were intended to start a revolution to inspire Norwegians to retake their country from Muslims and other immigrants, the suspect said.

What was your reaction, and given the heated rhetoric on Muslims and multiculturalism in this country, what are your thoughts on preventing such acts here?

Unfortunately, I do not see a short-term remedy or fix for this kind of sickness. In many instances, the incubator for the acts of violence as displayed in Norway is mental illness. “And who knows what evil lurks in the hearts” of deranged,disoriented and disgusting individuals who seek attention at the destruction of other human beings. Mr. Anders Brevick thought he was doing Europe a favor. In my opinion that is tantamount to the KKK declaring war on African-Americans, Jewish-Americans and Hispanics to rid America of her social challenges.

I have long contended that racism and bigotry are mental illnesses and individuals who are afflicted by these conditions are emotional time bombs with unpredictable and short fuses. Therefore, there is no legislation or law enforcement agency capable of preventing these acts of violence.

While I do not see a short-term remedy, there is a long-range hope in reaching the masses of young people to teach them tolerance and acceptance of all people, regardless of race, creed or national origin. I also think quick justice pursued in the prosecution and severe punishment of Mr. Anders Brevick, if found guilty, will send a needed message.

History has taught that during poor economic conditions, hate groups experience a tremendous surge in membership and the rhetoric of antisemitism, bigotry and racism reaches an all-time high. Many hate groups see immigrant workers as a threat to their limited jobs and these groups detest and protest any social assistance to the “foreigners.”

As members of the “Faith Community,” we must pray without ceasing for divine intervention in Washington, DC, on Wall street and throughout the world for an up-ward turn in our economy. We need elected officials who will strive to lead by principle rather than being led by the political polls. If Wall Street got us in this unfortunate situation, then the remedy has to be implemented on Wall Street. Oversight, rules and more stringent regulations are needed to stop the graft and greed that lead to the ruination of our economy. Let us pray for President Obama and the members of congress that we can avoid the pending economic disaster of debt default.

The bombing in downtown Oslo and the shooting massacre at a youth camp outside the capital were intended to start a revolution to inspire Norwegians to retake their country from Muslims and other immigrants, the suspect said.

What was your reaction, and given the heated rhetoric on Muslims and multiculturalism in this country, what are your thoughts on preventing such acts here?

The Bible affirms that God is the ultimate judge. The Bible also affirms that we can observe people by the actions i.e. spiritual fruit. Using this as a guide, Anders Behring Breivik has no alignment with Jesus Christ. Jesus came that we might have life and have it more abundantly. Satan came to “steal, kill, and destroy.” Breivik’s actions don’t resemble in any way, the teachings of Jesus Christ. Jesus is “the way, the truth, and the life.” Anyone who comes to Him enjoys life as it was intended to be lived by our Creator and Designer!

The bombing in downtown Oslo and the shooting massacre at a youth camp outside the capital were intended to start a revolution to inspire Norwegians to retake their country from Muslims and other immigrants, the suspect said.

What was your reaction, and given the heated rhetoric on Muslims and multiculturalism in this country, what are your thoughts on preventing such acts here?

“Go and do thou likewise” (Luke 10:37) was the Lord’s admonition to the lawyer in the Parable of the Good Samaritan; as he asked the Savior “Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” (v. 25).  The lawyer got it right the first time when he answered the Savior, “ Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.” (v. 27) The Lord gave a very brief answer  which should have sufficed; “ Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.” (v. 28) but the unsatisfied lawyer sought to “justify himself, and said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?” (v. 29) The Lord makes it clear that we are to love all people regardless of race or religion. Are we not all God’s children?

The Bible is full of counsel to love our neighbor, to love our enemies and to love those who dispitefully use us. It is a Gospel of love and peace, not one of hate or anger.

A healthy respect for the diverse beliefs and unique contributions of all the world’s faiths is one of the hallmarks of Mormonism. From the earliest days of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Joseph Smith elevated the principle of religious liberty and tolerance: “We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may” (Articles of Faith 1:11).

Religious freedom is a constitutional right given to all men in this great country. We must respect others’ rights to worship as they see fit. While we can never prevent such acts as we witnessed this week in Norway because men have their agency to make their own decisions, right or wrong. Certainly, if all embraced a pure love of Christ, according to Christian beliefs, or the love of the Supreme Being they worship, there wouldn’t be room in our hearts for hatred. The most liberating action we can take is to free ourselves of any type of hatred, anger, or ill feelings we have towards any individual or religious body who seeks to do good.

The leader of the Mormon faith, Thomas Monson called for more religious understanding: “I would encourage members of the Church wherever they may be to show kindness and respect for all people everywhere. The world in which we live is filled with diversity. We can and should demonstrate respect toward those whose beliefs differ from ours” (April 2008 General Conference address). Latter-day Saints accept all sincere believers as equals in the pursuit of faith and in the great work of serving humanity.