Stop the Islamisation of Norway
Encyclopedia
Stop the Islamisation of Norway is a Norwegian
anti-Islamisation organisation which was established in 2008, although its history goes back to a group started in 2000. Led by Arne Tumyr
, the organisation currently has thousands of members and sympathizers.
"), originally to protest against a request by the Islamic Cultural Centre to broadcast the Adhan at a local Oslo
mosque
using loudspeaker
s. On 11 September 2000, the group changed its name to Forum against Islamisation (Forum mot islamisering, FOMI). As a new series of "Stop the Islamisation" groups started to get established around Europe, the name was on 16 February 2008 changed to its current name, Stop the Islamisation of Norway. By mid-2011, it was reported that the organisation had close to 13,000 members or "likes" on its Facebook
group, although it gathered only a modest attendance at its meetings and demonstrations. The organisation itself had in excess of 3,000 members, mainly based in Oslo but followed by Stavanger
. These figures makes it by far the biggest national "Stop Islamisation" group in Europe, and even beats Stop Islamisation of Europe.
and the Progress Party
, but was voted down by all other parties. In 2004, the two Jewish founders of the Norwegian Israel Centre were expelled from the Mosaic Religious Community (Jewish community of Oslo), after they joined FOMI and the Democrats party for the annual commemoration of the Kristallnacht
.
In May 2009, SIAN was joined by anti-immigration activist and former Norwegian resistance fighter
Erik Gjems-Onstad
, and the leader of the Norwegian Patriots
, Øyvind Heian
in an anti-Islamism demonstration in Oslo. They were heavily outnumbered by counter-demonstrators. Tumyr also compared immigration to Norway with the Nazi invasion of Norway
in 1940. In June 2009, SIAN was again joined by Heian for a demonstration in Oslo. The Blitz movement
and the Red Party in turn held an illegal counter-demonstration, against what they called "Nazis and racists". Both demonstrations developed into minor street clashes.
In August 2010, SIAN held an arrangement in Bergen
, where speeches were held by Tumyr and the leader of the Democrats, Vidar Kleppe
. SOS Rasisme
held a counter-demonstration at the event. On 11 September, SIAN held a commemoration of the September 11 terror attacks, and were joined by Anders Gravers Pedersen of Stop Islamisation of Europe. Some groups of SOS Rasisme and Blitz movement activists tried to disrupt the event.
In January 2011, the leader of the local Nordstrand
chapter of the Socialist Left Party
in Oslo, Morten Schau, joined SIAN to much controversy. He resigned from the Socialist Left Party later the same day, after the leader of the Oslo chapter deemed membership of SIAN as "incompatible" with being a member of the party.
In February 2011, Walid al-Kubaisi
joined a meeting hosted by SIAN, where he held a speech. The Blitz movement demonstrated outside the arrangement, and al-Kubaisi needed police escort to get to the meeting. When questioned about the organisation's relation to the newly emerged Norwegian Defence League, Tumyr stated that their ideology, intent on "stopping Islam", was the same, although their means of expression differed.
in 2004, Jahn Otto Johansen
called the former FOMI "extremly Muslim-hostile." The then general secretary of the Norwegian Humanist Association, Lars Gule
, has also stated that the organisation "uses a hateful and vulgar language with a clearly discriminating content." At the same time as Gule was chairman of NHA, the NHA was convicted of libels against the leader of SIAN, Arne Tumyr, after it publicly had characterised a letter to the editor from Tumyr as "racist". Ingunn Økland of Aftenposten has critizised the use both by SIAN and its opponents of labelling each other "Nazi" in the Islam-debate.
On the other hand, Iraqi refugee and writer Walid al-Kubaisi
has made appearances in the organisation, and in the feature story "Norway for Norwegians" (Norge for nordmenn) in Klassekampen
in 2005 stated that "the forum showed a variation of thoughts and opinions within the frame of fear of Islamism. The fear of Islamism is healthy and legitimate for the population of Europe, and in the Muslim world."
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
anti-Islamisation organisation which was established in 2008, although its history goes back to a group started in 2000. Led by Arne Tumyr
Arne Tumyr
Arne Tumyr is a Norwegian former journalist, newspaper editor and politician.Tumyr grew up in Ask in Askøy, from where he moved in 1950. He took a baker's education in 1952, and started as a journalist apprentice in the newspaper Nordlands Framtid in Bodø in 1956...
, the organisation currently has thousands of members and sympathizers.
Overview
The predecessor to SIAN was started in early 2000 as Aksjonskomiteen mot bønnerop (lit. "Action Committee against prayer callingAdhan
The adhān is the Islamic call to prayer, recited by the muezzin at prescribed times of the day. The root of the word is meaning "to permit"; another derivative of this word is , meaning "ear"....
"), originally to protest against a request by the Islamic Cultural Centre to broadcast the Adhan at a local Oslo
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
mosque
Mosque
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
using loudspeaker
Loudspeaker
A loudspeaker is an electroacoustic transducer that produces sound in response to an electrical audio signal input. Non-electrical loudspeakers were developed as accessories to telephone systems, but electronic amplification by vacuum tube made loudspeakers more generally useful...
s. On 11 September 2000, the group changed its name to Forum against Islamisation (Forum mot islamisering, FOMI). As a new series of "Stop the Islamisation" groups started to get established around Europe, the name was on 16 February 2008 changed to its current name, Stop the Islamisation of Norway. By mid-2011, it was reported that the organisation had close to 13,000 members or "likes" on its Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
group, although it gathered only a modest attendance at its meetings and demonstrations. The organisation itself had in excess of 3,000 members, mainly based in Oslo but followed by Stavanger
Stavanger
Stavanger is a city and municipality in the county of Rogaland, Norway.Stavanger municipality has a population of 126,469. There are 197,852 people living in the Stavanger conurbation, making Stavanger the fourth largest city, but the third largest urban area, in Norway...
. These figures makes it by far the biggest national "Stop Islamisation" group in Europe, and even beats Stop Islamisation of Europe.
Activities
In November 2000, about a dozen members of FOMI held a demonstration against Adhan from mosques in Norway and Islamisation. Legislation to ban Adhan by loudspeakers was proposed in parliament by Carl I. HagenCarl I. Hagen
Carl Ivar Hagen is a Norwegian politician and former Vice President of the Norwegian Parliament. He was the chairman of the Progress Party from 1978 until 2006, when Siv Jensen replaced him as chairman of the party...
and the Progress Party
Progress Party (Norway)
The Progress Party is a political party in Norway which identifies as conservative liberal and libertarian. The media has described it as conservative and right-wing populist...
, but was voted down by all other parties. In 2004, the two Jewish founders of the Norwegian Israel Centre were expelled from the Mosaic Religious Community (Jewish community of Oslo), after they joined FOMI and the Democrats party for the annual commemoration of the Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht, also referred to as the Night of Broken Glass, and also Reichskristallnacht, Pogromnacht, and Novemberpogrome, was a pogrom or series of attacks against Jews throughout Nazi Germany and parts of Austria on 9–10 November 1938.Jewish homes were ransacked, as were shops, towns and...
.
In May 2009, SIAN was joined by anti-immigration activist and former Norwegian resistance fighter
Norwegian resistance movement
The Norwegian resistance to the occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany began after Operation Weserübung in 1940 and ended in 1945. It took several forms:...
Erik Gjems-Onstad
Erik Gjems-Onstad
Erik-Ørn Gjems-Onstad, MBE was a Norwegian resistance member, officer, lawyer, politician and anti-immigration activist. When Nazi Germany invaded Norway in 1940, Gjems-Onstad travelled to England to join the Norwegian resistance movement...
, and the leader of the Norwegian Patriots
Norwegian Patriots
The Norwegian Patriots was a Norwegian political party whose main aim was to stop non-western immigration to Norway.The newly formed National Democrats merged with the party in July 2007, and the Norwegian Patriots ran for election for its first time in the Norwegian parliamentary election, 2009,...
, Øyvind Heian
Øyvind Heian
Øyvind Heian was a Norwegian politician and the parliamentary leader of Norwegian Patriots, which he founded in 2007 and whose main aim was to stop non-western immigration to Norway....
in an anti-Islamism demonstration in Oslo. They were heavily outnumbered by counter-demonstrators. Tumyr also compared immigration to Norway with the Nazi invasion of Norway
Operation Weserübung
Operation Weserübung was the code name for Germany's assault on Denmark and Norway during the Second World War and the opening operation of the Norwegian Campaign...
in 1940. In June 2009, SIAN was again joined by Heian for a demonstration in Oslo. The Blitz movement
Blitz (movement)
Blitz is an anarchist, communist and socialist youth community in Oslo, Norway, founded in 1982. The group has often been criticized for their use of violent methods of political protest.- The house :...
and the Red Party in turn held an illegal counter-demonstration, against what they called "Nazis and racists". Both demonstrations developed into minor street clashes.
In August 2010, SIAN held an arrangement in Bergen
Bergen
Bergen is the second largest city in Norway with a population of as of , . Bergen is the administrative centre of Hordaland county. Greater Bergen or Bergen Metropolitan Area as defined by Statistics Norway, has a population of as of , ....
, where speeches were held by Tumyr and the leader of the Democrats, Vidar Kleppe
Vidar Kleppe
Vidar Sveinung Kleppe is a Norwegian politician. He was a Member of Parliament and deputy chairman of the Progress Party until being suspended and left the party in 2001...
. SOS Rasisme
SOS Rasisme
SOS Rasisme is a Norwegian activist organisation, whose stated goal is to reduce racism in society. It was founded in 1985, inspired by the French SOS Racisme...
held a counter-demonstration at the event. On 11 September, SIAN held a commemoration of the September 11 terror attacks, and were joined by Anders Gravers Pedersen of Stop Islamisation of Europe. Some groups of SOS Rasisme and Blitz movement activists tried to disrupt the event.
In January 2011, the leader of the local Nordstrand
Nordstrand, Norway
Nordstrand is a borough of the city of Oslo, Norway.The borough is located in the southern part of the city and is the second most populated district of Oslo with over 40,000 inhabitants...
chapter of the Socialist Left Party
Socialist Left Party (Norway)
The Socialist Left Party or SV, is a Norwegian left-wing political party. At one point one of the smallest parties in Parliament, it became the fourth-largest political party in Norway for the first time in the 2001 parliamentary election, and has been so ever since...
in Oslo, Morten Schau, joined SIAN to much controversy. He resigned from the Socialist Left Party later the same day, after the leader of the Oslo chapter deemed membership of SIAN as "incompatible" with being a member of the party.
In February 2011, Walid al-Kubaisi
Walid al-Kubaisi
Walid al-Kubaisi is a Norwegian-Iraqi writer and author. His criticism of Islamism includes the documentary film Frihet, likhet og Det muslimske brorskap.-Personal life and career:...
joined a meeting hosted by SIAN, where he held a speech. The Blitz movement demonstrated outside the arrangement, and al-Kubaisi needed police escort to get to the meeting. When questioned about the organisation's relation to the newly emerged Norwegian Defence League, Tumyr stated that their ideology, intent on "stopping Islam", was the same, although their means of expression differed.
Views by commentators
In a comment in AftenpostenAftenposten
Aftenposten is Norway's largest newspaper. It retook this position in 2010, taking it from the tabloid Verdens Gang which had been the largest newspaper for several decades. It is based in Oslo. The morning edition, which is distributed across all of Norway, had a circulation of 250,179 in 2007...
in 2004, Jahn Otto Johansen
Jahn Otto Johansen
Jahn Otto Johansen is a Norwegian journalist, newspaper editor, foreign correspondent and non-ficiton writer.He worked for the newspaper Morgenposten from 1956 to 1966, for the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation from 1966 to 1977, and was chief editor of Dagbladet from 1977 to 1984. He has been a...
called the former FOMI "extremly Muslim-hostile." The then general secretary of the Norwegian Humanist Association, Lars Gule
Lars Gule
Lars Gule is a Norwegian philosopher.A scholar on the Middle East, he took the doctorate degree at the University of Bergen in 2003 with the thesis Social Development and Political Progress in Two Traditions. He was involved in various research programmes at the University of Bergen and Chr....
, has also stated that the organisation "uses a hateful and vulgar language with a clearly discriminating content." At the same time as Gule was chairman of NHA, the NHA was convicted of libels against the leader of SIAN, Arne Tumyr, after it publicly had characterised a letter to the editor from Tumyr as "racist". Ingunn Økland of Aftenposten has critizised the use both by SIAN and its opponents of labelling each other "Nazi" in the Islam-debate.
On the other hand, Iraqi refugee and writer Walid al-Kubaisi
Walid al-Kubaisi
Walid al-Kubaisi is a Norwegian-Iraqi writer and author. His criticism of Islamism includes the documentary film Frihet, likhet og Det muslimske brorskap.-Personal life and career:...
has made appearances in the organisation, and in the feature story "Norway for Norwegians" (Norge for nordmenn) in Klassekampen
Klassekampen
Klassekampen is a Norwegian daily newspaper, which styles itself as "the daily left-wing newspaper".Klassekampen was founded in 1969 with a Marxist-Leninist-Maoist platform. Until recently, it was owned by The Workers' Communist Party...
in 2005 stated that "the forum showed a variation of thoughts and opinions within the frame of fear of Islamism. The fear of Islamism is healthy and legitimate for the population of Europe, and in the Muslim world."