Religions for Peace Norway urges gvt to sign Treaty prohibiting nuclear weapons

Religions for Peace Norway has urged the Norwegian Government to join the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), which seeks for the first time to establish a comprehensive ban on the development, testing, production, stockpiling, stationing, transfer, use and threat of use of nuclear weapons, as well as obligations for victim assistance and environmental remediation.

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Norway's Muslims in Unwanted Spotlight

Incredibly, in your scramble to cover your rush-to-judgment editorial blaming Muslim extremists for the massacre in Norway ("An attack on Oslo," Saturday), you repeat the same big lie and claim that Anders Behring Breivik was inspired by tactics developed by al-Qaida ("Norway's terrorist," Tuesday). In fact, as Breivik's extensive writings document, he was inspired by the writings of an American right-wing extremist and the writings and actions of the Unabomber.

Despite extensive FBI documentation that political violence motivated by right-wing extremism is by far the biggest menace in the United States, The Plain Dealer remains silent about this threat and continues to propagate the myth that Muslim extremism is the greatest problem. Right-wing political violence does not need al-Qaida for inspiration. It has deep "Made In America" roots going back to the end of Reconstruction and the rise of the Ku Klux Klan. It continues every year to be directed at African-Americans, Hispanics, Jews, immigrants, gays, abortion providers and Democrats. Many more Muslims and their institutions are victims of this violence than are perpetrators.

Norway's Muslim community, estimated at 200,000 people out of a population of almost five million, has been thrust into an unwelcome spotlight by the attacks, even though no Muslim was involved and up to 10 of the victims may have been Muslim.

The extreme anti-Muslim views of the attacker, Anders Behring Breivik, are ensuring that the debate about immigration and integration in Norway will rage on. And, while society for now is pulling together, many worry that ultimately the focus will come to rest on the Muslims and their role in Norwegian society.

"When we wake up from this shock and there is a return to normalcy, there will be a discussion on what is integration and what is it not," said Tore Lindhom, an expert on integration at the University of Oslo's Norwegian Centre for Human Rights.

If political participation is a mark of integration, then Norway's Muslims seem very well adapted. The Labour Party youth summer camp on Utoeya emphasises values such as multiculturalism and anti-racism. Even so, children with a Muslim background were well represented. Between 60 and 70 of the 650 youths at the camp reportedly were Muslim.

The 27-year old Muslim Labour MP Hadia Tajik is a veteran of the summer camp and is now described as a rising star by her party colleagues. She left the island shortly before the shooting started. Speaking outside the Labour Party headquarters in Oslo, she called the killings, "an attack on Norway's openness".

She was fierce in her defence of Norway as a harmonious country where Muslims and others get along relatively well. "It is a land of opportunities. It has given me and many other youngsters from immigrant backgrounds so many opportunities and that says much more about the country than the acts of this person."

Her views were echoed by Mehtab Afsar, general secretary of the mainstream Islamic Council of Norway. "Norway is the best country in Europe for Muslims to live in," he said while paying his respects to the victims in Oslo's cathedral, the Domkirke.

He was not worried about an increased focus on Muslims but thought that the debate on integration would be easier now. "The ugly tone which the debate had a few times, that ugliness will now disappear from the debates."

In Drammen, imam Ahmad Noor too was confident that the situation for Muslims would actually improve, but his argument was rather more sombre. He argued that now, finally, the extremism of the anti-Muslim fringe has been exposed. "This thinking was underground and the government and the parties never addressed it," he said. Now they will not have a choice but to meet the problem head on, he added.

He heard about the attack first just after Friday prayers, immediately after the bomb in Oslo went off. He and his congregants worried about the identity of the attacker. "Our second emotion after all the grief and sadness was maybe he was Muslim." He said that everybody went home and stayed indoors until the identity of the attacker became clear. Next page

Norway Massacre: Historic Church Holds Ceremony to Mourn Victims

The bell that tolls once a year on 9/11 sounded Wednesday for the victims of the terrorist attacks in Oslo and Utoya Island.

Down the street from the World Trade Center site at St. Paul's Chapel, the Norwegian consul spoke of the victims before ringing the "Bell of Hope," given to the chapel by the mayor of London a year after the 9/11 attacks.

"I think this bell carries a message of rememberance," said Norwegian consul Aslaug Nygård. "I hope this bell carries further than New York and Norway."

After a moment of silence, Nygård rung the bell four times, in the same pattern firemen use to honor their fallen brothers.

"On a personal level, New York can identify with how people in Norway feel right now," said Nygård. "Norway is a small country, I have friends who knew people in the attack."

Later, St. Paul's Vicar, the Rev. Canon Anne Mallonee, invited onlookers inside to pray for victims of terrorist attacks around the globe.

Nygard rang the bell five times to honor those who died during Friday’s attacks in Norway.

"The popular reaction to these tragic, horrific actions has been the reaction of love and compassion and peace and flowers and candles and remembrance," Norway Consul Nygard said before striking the bell. "I think there is a strong connection between what this bell symbolizes and also how people in Norway feel right now.”

"We stand together shoulder by shoulder in the darkest of times we as a nation show our neighborly love and show our compassion for the victims their families their friends and the survivors."

The "Bell of Hope" was a gift to New York from the city of London a year after 9/11. The bell has been rung previously for the bombings in London, Madrid, Mumbai, and Moscow; for the Virginia Tech shooting; and on the 9/11 anniversaries.

Norway attacker Anders Behring Breivik killed 76 and injured dozens more on Friday, July 22. The attack started with a bomb blast in the capital Oslo and continued with an hour-long shooting rampage at a camp for Labour Party teens on nearby Utoya Island.

Breivik is currently in custody in Norway and has admitted to the attacks, and claims to have been in contact with other terror cells abroad. Police in Norway are currently investigating footage of the attack, and combing Utoya Island for clues.

Pope Calls For Unity Against Hatred and Evil:Norway Victims

The Pope, conducting Angelus at his summer residence at Castel Gandolfo outside Rome, said he was deeply saddened by the news of the attacks.

He said: "Once again, unfortunately, arrives the news of death and violence. We all feel deep sorrow for the serious acts of terrorism that occurred in Norway.

Memorial services were held across the country after at least 92 were killed and 97 wounded from the twin attacks on Friday.

The suspect for both attacks, Anders Behring Breikviks, a 32-year-old Norwegian right-wing fanatic, was arrested on Friday and is now in custody.

On Sunday, the Pope Benedict XVI expressed deep sorrow for the victims of the attacks. He renewed his "sad appeal to abandon forever the path of hatred and flee from the rationale of evil."

Speaking to 4,000 liturgy attendants in the courtyard of the Apostolic Palace in Castel Gandolfo, the Pope urged people to follow the moral conscience, which teaches to distinguish between good and evil and avoid the latter, said AsiaNews.

In Solomon's case, the request was motivated by the duty of leading a nation, Israel, the people God chose to manifest to the world his plans of salvation. The King of Israel therefore had to try to be always in tune with God, listening to His Word, in order to lead the people on the ways of the Lord as well as on the path of justice and peace."

"But, Solomon's example applies to every man.

Each one of us has a conscience and in a certain way is also 'king'. This means we can exercise the great human dignity of acting according to the right conscience doing good and avoiding evil.

The moral conscience presupposes a capacity to listen to the voice of truth, and to be meek towards its indications. People called to political office naturally have more responsibilities, and thus, as Solomon teaches, need God's help even more."

"But each one of us has his own duty to perform in our respective circumstances.

A wrong mindset tells us to ask God for favors, be they things or conditions. In reality, the true quality of our own life and that of society depends on man's right conscience, on everyone's capacity to recognize good, separating it from evil, and patiently try to implement it."

"I want to repeat my appeal to everyone to give up forever the path of hate and to escape from the logic of evil," said Pope Benedict.

He further called on Norwegians to be "spiritually united" and to "work together fearlessly in shaping a future of mutual respect, solidarity and freedom for coming generations.

Religion in Norway

Norwegians are registered at baptism as members of the Church of Norway; many remain in the state church to be able to use services such as baptism, confirmation, marriage and burial, rites which have strong cultural standing in Norway. About 79.2% of Norwegians were members of the Church of Norway as of January 1, 2010. However, only 20% of Norwegians say that religion occupies an important place in their life (according to a recent Gallup poll), the fourth-lowest such percentage in the world (ahead of only Estonia, Sweden and Denmark). In the early 1990s, it was estimated that between 4.7% – 5.3% of Norwegians attended church on a weekly basis. This figure has dropped to about 2% – the lowest such percentage in Europe – according to 2009 and 2010 data

In 2010, 10% of the population was religiously unaffiliated, while another 9% (431 000 people), were members of religious and life stance communities outside the Church of Norway. Other Christian denominations total about 4.9% of the population, the largest of which is the Catholic Church, with 57,000 members. Others include Pentecostals (39,600), the Evangelical Lutheran Free Church of Norway (19,300), Methodists (11,000), Baptists (9,400), Orthodox (7,700)Adventists (5,100),Assyrians and Chaldeans, and others. The Swedish, Finnish and Icelandic Lutheran congregations in Norway have about 22,500 members in total. Other religions comprise less than 1% each, including the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and 15,000 Jehovah's Witnesses.

Among non-Christian religions, Islam is the largest with the population of about 150,000. It is practiced mainly by Somali, Arab, Albanian, and Turkish immigrants, as well as Norwegians of Pakistani descent. Other religions comprise less than 1% each, including 803 adherents of Judaism. Indian immigrants introduced Hinduism to Norway, which in 2009 has slightly more than 5,200 adherents, or 1% of non-Lutheran Norwegians. There are eleven Buddhist organizations, grouped under the Buddhistforbundet organization, with slightly over 12,000 members, which make up 0.42% of the population. The Baha'i religion has slightly more than 1,000 adherents. Sikhism has 2,700. Around 1.5% of Norwegians adhere to the secular Norwegian Humanist Association.

From 2000 to 2009, the fastest-growing religious faith in Norway was Orthodox Christianity, which grew in membership by 231.1%; however, its share of the total population remains small.

According to the Eurobarometer Poll 2005, at that time 32% of Norwegian citizens responded that "they believe there is a god". A study conducted three years previously by Gustafsson and Pettersson (2002), similarly found that 72% of Norwegians did not believe in a 'personal God.

Like other Scandinavian countries, the Norse followed a form of native Germanic paganism known as Norse paganism. By the end of the 11th century, when Norway had been Christianized, the indigenous Norse religion and practices were prohibited. Remnants of the native religion and beliefs of Norway survive today in the form of names, referential names of cities and locations, the days of the week, and other parts of the everyday language. Modern interest in the old ways has led to a revival of the pagan religious practices in the form of Asatru. The Norwegian Åsatrufellesskapet Bifrost formed in 1996; as of 2005, the fellowship has some 200 members. Foreningen Forn Sed formed in 1999 and has been recognized by the Norwegian government as a religious organization.

Parts of the Sami minority retained their shamanistic religion well into the 18th century when they were converted to Christianity by Dano-Norwegian missionaries.

Religion Members Percent As of 2010

Lutheranism 3,919,571 80.6%

Catholicism 66,972 1.3%

Pentecostalism 39,923 0.8%

Jehovah's Witnesses 11,640 0.2%

Methodism 11,082 0.2%

Baptism 9,749 0.2%

Orthodoxy 8,492 0.1%

Seventh-day Adventist Church 5,136 0.1%

Other Christianity 20,793 0.4%

Non-Christian religions 121,321 2.4%

Islam 98,953 2.0%

Buddhism 13,376 0.2%

Hinduism 5,175 0.1%

Sikhism 1,037 0.02%

Bahá'í Faith 1,012 0.02%

Judaism 818 0.02%

Other religions 950 0.02%

Non-religious and unknown 643,520 13.2%

Humanism 82,890 1.7%

Total 4,858,199 100.0%

Religion in Norway

Norwegians are registered at baptism as members of the Church of Norway, many remain in the state church to be able to use services such as baptism, confirmation, marriage and burial, rites which have strong cultural standing in Norway.

79.2% of Norwegians were members of the state Church of Norway as of January 1, 2010, a 1% drop compared to the year before and down nearly 3% from two years earlier. However, only 20% of Norwegians say that religion occupies an important place in their life (according to a recent Gallup poll), making Norway one of the most secular countries of the world (only in Estonia, Sweden and Denmark were the percentage of people who considered religion to be important lower). In the early 1990s, it was estimated that between 4.7% – 5.3% of Norwegians attended church on a weekly basis. This low figure dropped to a mere 2% by 2008, putting Norway at the bottom of the church attendance rankings in Europe In 2010, Norway statistics reported still a further drop in church attendance during 2009 According to the Eurobarometer Poll 2005, at that time 32% of Norwegian citizens responded that "they believe there is a god. This aligns with another study by Gustafsson and Pettersson (2002), according to which 72% of Norwegians do not believe in a 'personal God.'

Just above 10% of the population is unaffiliated (per 1 January 2010, 79.2% were members of the Church of Norway. Another 9%, or 431 000, were members of religious and life stance communities outside the Church of Norway as per 1 January 2009). Other Christian denominations total about 4.9% of the population, the largest of which is the Catholic Church, with 57,000 members.Others include Pentecostals (39,600), the Evangelical Lutheran Free Church of Norway (19,300), Methodists (11,000), Baptists (9,400), Orthodox (7,700) Adventists (5,100), Assyrians and Chaldeans, and others. The Swedish, Finnish and Icelandic Lutheran congregations in Norway have about 22,500 members in total. Other religions comprise less than 1% each, including the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and 15,000 Jehovah's Witnesses.

Among non-Christian religions, Islam is the largest, representing about 1.5% of the population. It is practiced mainly by Somali, Arab, Albanian, and Turkish immigrants, as well as Norwegians of Pakistani descent. Other religions comprise less than 1% each, including 803 adherents of Judaism. Indian immigrants introduced Hinduism to Norway, which in 2009 has slightly more than 5,200 adherents, or 1% of non-Lutheran Norwegians. There are eleven Buddhist organizations, grouped under the Buddhistforbundet organization, with slightly over 12,000 members, which make up 0.42% of the population. The Baha'i religion has slightly more than 1,000 adherents. Sikhism has 2,700. Around 1.5% of Norwegians adhere to the secular Norwegian Humanist Association.