By @jannelouisa: Anders B. Breivik, Islamophobic jihadi
How a Norwegian attacker went from being described as a Muslim terrorist to an Islamophobic far-right nationalist.
In the bewilderment and confusion that immediately followed the twin attacks on Norway this past Friday, some mainstream media sources and online observers were quick to implicitly blame what they termed “a terror group” or “Islamic extremists.” The culprit was in fact an ethnic Norwegian man who identified himself as a Christian.
In a matter of hours after the attack began, however, media outlets began publicizing theories that an Al-Qaeda affiliated network or similar group was responsible. As the narrative spread, information from one analyst following the online conversation among people he describes as “jihadis” helped fuel the theory that the attacks were backed, planned, funded, or executed by an Islamic organization. In the midst of this rhetoric, a group calling itself ‘Ansar al Jihad Al Alami’ or ‘Helpers of the Global Jihad’ claimed responsibility, though this claim was quickly rescinded.
It later emerged that the attacker was 32-year-old Anders Behring Breivik. Breivik was, by his own admission, motivated to violence by anti-Muslim sentiment, and had intended to use the bomb attack and shooting spree to eliminate a perceived Islamic influence on Norway.
In response to what she perceived to be the media’s snap analysis, Twitter user @Strange_Sanum started the hash tag #blamethemuslims to call attention to the misattribution. Initially, Sanum Ghafoor used it to comment on the media’s tendency to lay default blame on Muslims or Islamic organizations, while other users picked up on the trend to sarcastically address what they saw as examples of a more pervasive public and media bias against Muslims.
Among the media outlets who first implied guilt or placed blame on “jihadis” was the New York Times, which continued to hint at possible Islamic connections even after the identity of the attacker was made public.
Breivik had previously published online a lengthy personal manifesto blaming European politicians for allegedly lax immigration policies that threatened Norway’s racial and cultural identity.
The following Storify social media elements were submitted to The Stream by community member @jannelouisa