Anders Breivik: Norway Shooting Suspect Cites Canadians In Manifesto

First Posted: 07/25/11 11:53 PM ET Updated: 09/24/11 06:12 AM ET

Norway Shooting Suspect Anders Behring Breivik

Several Canadians were stunned Monday at learning the suspect in the bombing and shootings in Norway last week had referenced them in his lengthy diatribe against Muslims, Marxists and multiculturalism.

One of them, a science student, said he was dismayed to find himself quoted in Anders Behring Breivik's 1,518-page manifesto "2083," which makes more than 40 mostly passing references to Canada and Canadians.

"It's just an unbelievable thing to see your name associated with this when you're not yourself associated with anything of this kind," Eric Da Silva, a PhD science student at Hamilton's McMaster University, told The Canadian Press.

"This really hit me out of left field."

Five years ago, when Da Silva was president of Ryerson University's Catholic Students Association, he was quoted in a campus newspaper in a dispute over how Muslims were using a multi-faith room on campus.

Breivik, 32, cites the article to support his views equating Islam with fascism and that Muslims are incorrigible supremacists.

"What had happened was taken out of context," Da Silva said.

Breivik admitted in Norwegian court on Monday to bombing a government building in downtown Oslo, then killing dozens in a shooting rampage at a camp attended by Labour Party youth. Saying he wanted to save Europe from Muslim immigration, he entered a plea of not guilty Monday that will guarantee him future court hearings and opportunities to address the public, even indirectly.

Noted Canadian author Naomi Klein called Friday's camp slaughter an "extremely calculated act of political terrorism."

It was "harrowing" to learn Breivik talks in his manifesto about reading the first few chapters of her book Shock Doctrine, Klein said in an interview from British Columbia.

Those chapters deal with the cleansing of the political left in Latin America.

"I'm deeply distraught over the [camp] incident," Klein said.

"I saw such a strong similarity between the kinds of political violence that I've researched in Latin America in the '70s that specifically targeted a future generation of political leaders."

Over the length of his discourse that amounts to a right-wing call to arms against Muslims in Europe, Breivik cites a wide assortment of thinkers, political leaders and other authorities.

Among those he invokes in support of his cause are former British prime minister Winston Churchill, philosopher John Locke, Indian political leader Mahatma Gandhi, and former U.S. president Thomas Jefferson.

Breivik quotes from various newspaper articles that suggest a presence of radical and dangerous Islamists in Canada.

He refers to a 1998 court ruling against Mark Harding to support his view that Canadian hate-speech laws have been used to silence critics of Islam.

Harding was convicted after handing out pamphlets in Toronto that said Muslims in Canada were the same as those who committed atrocities abroad.

"Harding's case demonstrates that it is now a criminal act in several Western nations to tell the truth about the dangers posed by Muslim immigration," Breivik writes.

Salim Mansur, an associate political science professor at London's University of Western Ontario, said he was appalled to learn Breivik had used some of his writings in his manifesto to advance the notion Islam and democracy were incompatible.

"You've hit me in the solar plexus," Mansur said.

"I'm struggling with the fact that my name travelled into the mind of this mass killer."

Mansur, a Muslim opposed to Islamist violence who himself has been the target of radical Muslims, said Breivik and others like him engage in reading to "fuel their own pathology" and further their misguided causes, not to further genuine learning or debate.

In other parts of the manifesto -- published on numerous websites -- Breivik refers to Canada's low birth rate and somewhat lax sexual morality as part of his tirade against the "global cultural Marxist Mafia" and the multiculturalism he blames for many of the world's evils.

Canadian intelligence agencies have focused largely on Islamic extremism and the potential for radicalization, or homegrown terrorism.

The Canadian Security Intelligence Service has said little in recent years about hard-line right-wing elements.

Instead, it has tended to lump violent racists into a catch-all threat category of domestic extremism -- including those who use violence in the name of the environment, animal rights or aboriginal causes.

CSIS has also warned of "lone-wolf" terrorists with a dangerous agenda.

With files from The Associated Press

FOLLOW HUFFPOST CANADA

Several Canadians were stunned Monday at learning the suspect in the bombing and shootings in Norway last week had referenced them in his lengthy diatribe against Muslims, Marxists and multiculturalis...
Several Canadians were stunned Monday at learning the suspect in the bombing and shootings in Norway last week had referenced them in his lengthy diatribe against Muslims, Marxists and multiculturalis...
Filed by Christian Cotroneo  | 
 
 
  • Comments
  • 22
  • Pending Comments
  • 0
  • View FAQ
Comments are closed for this entry
View All
Favorites
Recency  | 
Popularity
04:39 PM on 07/26/2011
In Stephen Harper's world, liberals are an existential threat to humanity.
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Skeptic4Life
Amazingly, thinking can solve most problems.
02:59 PM on 07/26/2011
I'm happy to live in a country of "lax sexual morality" :)

It means more joy and love to spread around. In fact, if people got laid a bit more the world just might be a happier place.
photo
HUFFPOST COMMUNITY MODERATOR
mrsmdressup
100% snark
12:56 PM on 07/26/2011
While it is somewhat odd that he would use the words of various Canadians in his manifesto, out of context of course, it's obvious that he is a very twisted mind looking for whatever warped reasoning he could find.

I'm more disturbed by the jump of the media and many individuals to pin the blame on muslim extremists, even after the facts were out there for everyone to see. I'm also more than disturbed by _GlennBecks_ comments accusing the youth of the camp of being the equivalent of Hi.tl.er youth, and blaming them for their own demise. America needs to get people like this off the air before they instigate more violence against those with a differing political agenda, before it's too late.
03:46 PM on 07/26/2011
moslems were claiming responsibility two minutes after the attack
This user has chosen to opt out of the Badges program
photo
Irazu
I have nothing to declare
03:54 PM on 07/26/2011
Link, please
11:08 AM on 07/26/2011
"Canadians stunned . . . "

Not this Canuck. If that lunatic hates my country, I'm all the prouder.
photo
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
CHMB
What's long and brown and sticky? A Stick.
10:43 AM on 07/26/2011
He quoted Gandhi for support. Really? Of all the people who he things would support his campaign of mass murder, he quotes Gandhi. Who next? The Dalai Lama?

Ugh.
photo
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
arkymorgan
Nobody knows the trouble I've been...
10:35 AM on 07/26/2011
The final proof that ignorance is not bliss - at least, not for the rest of us.

But let's not lose sight of the fact that hardline, ideological views that reject facts in favour of beliefs (ie: we need more prisons to combat 'unreported crime') always breed extremeist and violent solutions.

On both ends of the spectrum.

Now, more than ever, we need to follow Norway's example and embrace MORE democracy, MORE tolerance, and MORE support of people's rights to safe and secure lives.
10:11 AM on 07/26/2011
well everyone already knew how unfriendly, intolerant, and hate filled canucks were.:)

kidding.
photo
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
gx5000
Life's too short, be happy..
10:17 AM on 07/26/2011
The Gloves are off, no more meeester nice guys ! ;-P
Bianca S
You can't go trick-or-treating. Ever. For a week
02:45 PM on 07/26/2011
If if wouldn't trouble you, could you please refrain from saying mean things about us Canadians?....or you know, don't, it's totally up to you and we wouldn't want to step on your toes...
05:30 PM on 07/26/2011
i was kidding, everyone knows canadians for the most part are friendly, good spirited, open, and honest folks. that was the irony of my joke.

you can step on my toes if you'd like though.
photo
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
mmoskvit
Reader. Hitchensian. Fellow traveler.
08:55 AM on 07/26/2011
Really, if you read National Post you'll see people agreeing with most of what he did, except that he chose wrong targets. Canada should be very careful, as it is very much vulnerable to the right-wing fascist cancer coming from the south. It would not surprise me if there are Breiviks of our own in Canada.
photo
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
gx5000
Life's too short, be happy..
10:22 AM on 07/26/2011
" if you read National Post"

Point is true reflections of opinions are rarely found in newspapers or blogs.
Some of us have the time between tasks to spend a little time here, many others have all the time in the world to expound on their beliefs as if its their calling, and muddle the waters.
photo
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
PlayTOE
Morals evolved due to cooperative group living
12:54 AM on 07/26/2011
He thinks Canadians have lax sexual morality because they are not bigoted to gays ...
and cherry picks and quote mines for things he can use out of context to support his twisted racism and outrageous political terrorism.

He needs to serve 20 years on each murder count, non-concurrent.
photo
Jay from Ottawa
sovereignty sale, 1.3T OBO
08:33 AM on 07/26/2011
He's just another extremist, granted one that flew under the radar. I feel bad for everyone quoted in his manifesto but also can't believe he could have somehow used a quote from Gandhi and did what he did.
photo
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
PlayTOE
Morals evolved due to cooperative group living
08:49 AM on 07/26/2011
f/f .. yes, he quote mined Gandhi to support his murders. Twisted.
04:43 PM on 07/26/2011
"He's just another extremist..."

Let's be clear, Anders Behring Breivik is a terrorist. His goal was to advance his political agenda by terrorizing civilians.
photo
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
gx5000
Life's too short, be happy..
10:20 AM on 07/26/2011
"He thinks Canadians have lax sexual morality"

Maybe he should have visited to find out...on second thought..no.....
This guy needs to go away forever.