Norway shocked by 'al-Qaeda' threat

BBC ^ | 5-21-03

[mikenola]

Norway should have been included in a threat attributed to the al-Qaeda network broadcast on Al-Jazeera television on Wednesday.

The hope of the authorities was that al-Qaeda simply got their geography wrong and did not mean to threaten Norway at all

The threat from what is said to be the al-Qaeda network has baffled authorities and people here alike. Analysts are struggling to come up with any reasons why Norwegian embassies and interests abroad should be singled out for attacks from Muslim fundamentalists.

Norway has traditionally been seen as a peacemaker in the Middle East and the country protested against the war in Iraq.

The government has also been critical of aspects of Washington's declared war on terror.

Awaiting instructions

One possible reason which has been put forward is the presence of Norwegian special forces in Afghanistan, but this is a small force and other countries have a much more pronounced presence there.

Norway's diplomatic efforts in the Middle East is considered a welcome activity by most of the Arab world and not a root cause for Muslim anger.

The threat is being taken seriously, however, and Norwegian interests abroad are awaiting instructions from Oslo about any possible extra security measures to be taken.

The hope of the authorities, as expressed by one diplomat, was that al-Qaeda simply got their geography wrong and did not mean to threaten Norway at all.

[Savage Beast]

Ouch! That must have been a kick in the leg for Gunnar Berge and the Nobel Peanut...oops! I mean Peace...Prize Committee.

All that appeasement and the crocodile's gonna eat them along with everybody else.

Hey, Norway! According to Islam you're a bunch of infidels! You deserve to die! Just like everybody else. Appeasement won't work.

When Norway comes under attack, Gunnar and his ilk will begin to comprehend the brilliance of President Bush and his leadership--the wisdom of Winston Churchill--and the foolishness of Neville Chamberlain!

[hunter112]

"Norway? Did we say Norway? Allahdammit, we meant Newfoundland!"

Good one, I would have thought the fanatics probably meant Lichtenstein!

[xm177e2]

Norway has traditionally been seen as a peacemaker in the Middle East and the country protested against the war in Iraq.

But I thought Osama wanted America to attack Iraq, so he would have an easier time recruiting... maybe now Osama will turn on the peaceniks. It's only logical, if you believe peacenik logic...

[browardchad]

The guvmint officials of Norway need to read "Hatred's Kingdom", a history of Wahhabism by former Israeli diplomat Dore Gold.

The U.S. Ambassador to Norway needs to read it.

Check out the U.S. Embassy Norway website. On a page entitled "Diversity and Common Ground: Internet Resources about Gender, Race, Ethnicity and Religion in the U.S.," there's a list of 19 links under "Faiths." There is one link for Judaism, still the second largest religion in the U.S.,  while there are six links are for Muslim organizations, which is currently the third largest religion in the U.S. (depending on whose numbers you want to believe).

Among the Muslim Organizations listed on the U.S. Embassy Norway site:

• Open Dialogue - this site, jointly sponsored by the Council of American Muslims for Understanding and the United States Department of State, provides information on one of the fastest growing religions in the United States -- Islam. By the year 2010, Islam is expected to become the second largest faith practiced in the United States after Christianity. That Muslim-American communities flourished in the United States demonstrates one of the core values of American society -- the freedom of individuals to worship as they choose.
• Council on American-Islamic Relations - the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) is a non-profit, grassroots membership organization. We have headquarters in Washington, D.C., and CAIR chapters across America. CAIR was established to promote a positive image of Islam and Muslims in America. We believe misrepresentations of Islam are most often the result of ignorance on the part of non-Muslims and reluctance on the part of Muslims to articulate their case (excerpted from the website).
  
• Muslim Life in America - Modern-day Muslims, like other religious groups, are one of many bright strands that form the intricate quilt of American religious and civic life. This Web site is an attempt to capture in photographs, words, and statistics something of the extraordinary range and richness of ordinary Muslim life in this country.
• Nation of Islam: History and Related Sites
• Muslim Public Affairs Council--this site was created by the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) to provide an arena for American Muslim activists to work on issues that impact the American Muslim community.
• Islam in the United States

 

CAIR, MPAC and NOI -- three radical Islamic groups -- are being promoted by the U.S. Ambassador to Norway. Is he being held hostage in a Norwegian mosque? 

[CarmelValleyite]

FYI - that "blonde" thing you mention is really more apparent in Sweden and Denmark. LOTS of dark-haired Norwegians, moreso than in other Scandinavian countries.

I oughta know -- I am one!

[CarmelValleyite]

Norway is very small; about 5 million total population -- yes, they are Socialist-leaning, but are basically a rather innocent group compared with, say, Sweden and Denmark.

And don't you dare drink and drive in Norway. Get caught and you'll go to jail for years!

[Rodney King]

One possible reason which has been put forward is the presence of Norwegian special forces in Afghanistan, but this is a small force and other countries have a much more pronounced presence there.

Another possible reason is that bullies don't respect weaklings, and in fact seek them out to pick on. This is something that most of us learned by 5 or 6 years old, but that liberals still don't understand.

[nosofar]

"Normans were from Normandy,France and not Norway.
Al-Queda should be mad at France not Norway. "


Normandy, Norway. Close enough.

[Risa]

>>CAIR, MPAC and NOI -- three radical Islamic groups -- are being promoted by the U.S. Ambassador to Norway. Is he being held hostage in a Norwegian mosque? <<

Very bizarre. Is he trying to draw Norway's Muslims here?

If it is true that Islam is gaining that kind of foot-hold in our country, we should be ashamed of ourselves for leaving today's kids an ungovernable U.S. down the road.

[Risa]

>>CAIR, MPAC and NOI -- three radical Islamic groups -- are being promoted by the U.S. Ambassador to Norway. Is he being held hostage in a Norwegian mosque? <<

Very bizarre. Is he trying to draw Norway's Muslims here?

If it is true that Islam is gaining that kind of foot-hold in our country, we should be ashamed of ourselves for leaving today's kids an ungovernable U.S. down the road.

[shhrubbery!]

FYI - that "blonde" thing you mention is really more apparent in Sweden and Denmark. LOTS of dark-haired Norwegians, moreso than in other Scandinavian countries.

You're right. I don't know if it's purely legendary or if there's some real history in it, but according to folklore "black Norwegians" are descendants of Spanish sailors who were shipwrecked off the Norskie coast.

As for me, I'm of Svensk descent and have red hair. Or used to, anyway.

[Cindy]

AFTENPOSTEN.no - English - News from Norway: "AL QAEDA THREATENS NORWAY" (May 21, 2003)
http://www.aftenposten.no/english/world/article.jhtml?articleID=550179

re: MULLAH KREKAR, Norway, Ansar Al-Islam, Al-Qaeda...

AFTENPOSTEN.no - News From Norway: "MULLAH KREKAR ARRESTED" (March 21, 2003)
http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article.jhtml?articleID=513564

AFTENPOSTEN.no - News From Norway: "MULLAH KREKAR WARNS U.S" (March 20, 2003)
http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article.jhtml?articleID=512702

On The Net...GOOGLE Search Term: "ANSAR AL-ISLAM"http://www.google.com/search?q=%22Ansar+al-Islam%22&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&filter=0
FOX NEWS.com: "U.S. MISSILES HIT AL-QAIDA HIDEOUT IN NORTHERN IRAQ" (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "Qubad Talabani, a spokesman with the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, told Fox News that Abu Musab Zarqawi, an associate of Usama bin Laden, stayed at terrorist training camps in that region, and is the person who Secretary Powell and President Bush both referenced when they linked Al Qaeda to Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. Tawela and Biyara, the Iran-bordering villages that were apparently bombed, contain numerous compounds that serve as the base for Ansar Al-Islam, a Shiite organization with suspected ties to Al Qaeda. One of the compounds was believed to be a site where some lethal chemicals, including ricin, may have been produced. The Kurds say Ansar, which has about 600 members in Northern Iraq, could be an obstacle in any U.S.-led offensive on Saddam through the north.") (March 22, 2003)
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,81843,00.html

GOOGLE Search Term: "MULLAH KREKAR"
http://www.google.com/search?q=%22MULLAH+KREKAR%22&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&filter=0

FR Discussion: "NORWAY TO EXPEL MULLAH KREKAR (Links to Al-Qaeda)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/847173/posts

FR Discussion: "MULLAH KREKAR ANSWERING YOUR QUESTIONS"
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/841393/posts

FR Discussion: "HIGH RANKING PUK MAN, SHAWKATI HAJI MUSHIR, KILLED BY KREKAR's GROUP"
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/839342/posts

FR Discussion: "NORWAY: MULLAH KREKAR LOSES REFUGEE STATUS"
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/740897/posts

NEWSMAX.com: "Wednesday, April 3, 2002 11:06 a.m. EST
Rumsfeld: Norwegian Pilots Needed to Protect U.S.; Military 'Run Down' by Clinton"
http://www.newsmax.com/showinside.shtml?a=2002/4/3/100757

Archives.TCM.ie - Breaking News: "Norway to send fighter jets on Afghanistan duty" (January 4, 2002)
http://archives.tcm.ie/breakingnews/2002/01/04/story35298.asp

GOOGLE Search Term: "Norway"
http://www.google.com/search?q=%22NORWAY%22&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&filter=0

[Cindy]

FR Discussion: "Norway charges Kurdish Islamist with terrorism
Reuters | Friday, March 21, 2003"
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/870942/posts

[Publius6961]

What exactly did the al Qaeda message say about Norway?

[Cindy]

re post no. 58:

See post no. 72 and 73 on this thread, AdmSmith.

[Koblenz]

Why should Norway be fearful they were singled out? The US was singled out on 9/11, and what the hell did we do to Islamic countries before that?

[Cindy]

"I think there might well be some connection to Mullah Krekar (the leader of Ansar al-Islam), who has political assylum in Norway. This could easily be a warning to the Norwegians not to arrest him."
19 posted on 05/21/2003 10:42 AM PDT by Angelus Errare
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/915389/posts?page=19#19

[pops88]

I think it's code:

Norway--fjords--Fords = Detroit!

[Fredsterman]

Ligon Berries Yum!

[piasa]

* Najmuddin Faraj a.k.a. Mullah Krekar : He was arrested in September 2002 by Dutch authorities - "Ansar Al-Islam: Iraq's Al-Qaeda Connection, " By Jonathan Schanzer, The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, via FrontPageMagazine.com , Friday, January 17, 2003 *
* Krekar : Head of Ansar al Islam, has described Saddam as an enemy of Islam. He lives in Norway as a refugee. Norway is now trying to deport him. -"Canadian man called key in Iraq terror cell Iraq terror cell links Al Qaeda, Saddam," Sandro Contenta in Sulaymania, Iraq Toronto Star NEWS; Pg. A01 February 26, 2003 Wednesday Ontario Edition (it was abridged) see also The Hamilton Spectator for the unabridged version *
* Recently apprehended Mullah Krekar spent many years in Iran and was arrested in Amsterdam after a flight from Tehran. Iran has several possible reasons for supporting Ansar. For one, having a democratic proto-state on its borders threatens the very nature of the Islamic republic. Thus, continued guerrilla activity benefits Tehran, as does any movement designed to spread Islamism in Kurdistan. Furthermore, by supporting Ansar and other Islamist groups in Iraq, Tehran may attempt to gain influence among the various factions that could contribute to a new Iraqi government if Saddam's regime is overthrown.- "Ansar Al-Islam: Iraq's Al-Qaeda Connection, " By Jonathan Schanzer, The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, via FrontPageMagazine.com , Friday, January 17, 2003

SEPTEMBER 2002 : (IRAN EXPELS KEKAR) According to media reports, Mala Krekar was detained and expelled by Iranian authorities.- "Ansar al-Islam’s leader arrested - Jordan asks his extradition," Iraqi Kurdistan Dispatch, news, 15 September 2002

SEPTEMBER 12, 2002 : (HOLLAND : DUTCH ARREST ANSAR AL ISLAM LEADER FARAJ AKA KREKAR) Mala Krekar, 47, whose real name is Najumuddin Faraj Ahmad, was arrested on Thursday, 12 September, at Amsterdam's Schiphol international airport while on a stopover on a journey from Teheran, to the Norwegian capital, Oslo. - "Ansar al-Islam’s leader arrested - Jordan asks his extradition," Iraqi Kurdistan Dispatch, news, 15 September 2002 *
* In September, Dutch authorities arrested the group's leader, Najmuddin Faraj (a.k.a. Mullah Krekar), for suspected ties to al-Qaeda. - "Ansar Al-Islam: Iraq's Al-Qaeda Connection, " By Jonathan Schanzer, The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, via FrontPageMagazine.com , Friday, January 17, 2003

SEPTEMBER 14, 2002 : (JORDAN REQUESTS EXTRADITION OF KREKAR) Jordan has requested from Dutch authorities the extradition of the head of Ansar al-Islam, an Iraqi Kurdish Islamic radical group, Mala Krekar, said Reuters on 14 September, quoting a Dutch Justice Ministry source. The Dutch Justice Ministry source did not say why Jordan seeks Mala Krekar’s extradition. - "Ansar al-Islam’s leader arrested - Jordan asks his extradition," Iraqi Kurdistan Dispatch, news, 15 September 2002