Islamic demonstration faced boycott

UPDATED: Muslims themselves were urged to boycott a planned demonstration in front of the Norwegian Parliament on Friday by an Islamic group considered to be extremist. With only around 15 participants assembled and no action a half-hour after the demonstration was due to begin, it appeared the boycott call had an effect, or simply that [...]

Embassy warns of demonstration

The US Embassy in Oslo was warning US citizens to stay away from certain areas in the Frogner area of the Norwegian capital on Saturday, because of a planned demonstration in the early afternoon. Embassy officials, in what they called an “emergency message to American Citizens” sent to those registered with the embassy, said they’d [...]

Islamic activist complains of persecution

One of Norway’s most controversial Islamic activists, Mohyeldeen Mohammad, is demanding insight into any files Norwegian authorities may have compiled on him. He claims the information is causing trouble for him when he goes traveling. Mohammad, age 25, is best known for hailing the late al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden and defending the murder of [...]

‘Monster Masts’ activists strike again

Campaigners protesting the building of overhead power lines in Hardanger Fjord – nicknamed “Monster Masts” by detractors – took part in a sit-in protest to ground a helicopter used by state electricity authorities to install the lines on Monday. The activists are part of an ongoing campaign to stop the building of overhead powerlines in [...]

Syrians protest killings back home

Approximately 70 people, mostly Syrians, rallied outside Norway’s foreign ministry on Friday to protest the increasing use of violence against demonstrators in their home country. According to news website Al Jazeera, at least 20 protesters were killed in several Syrian cities when police opened fire on demonstrators. The protest in Oslo, however, was peaceful but loud, [...]

Ethiopians stage street protest

A group of Ethiopian asylum seekers staged a demonstration in a snowy downtown Oslo on Thursday to protest Norway’s handling of their request for asylum. Many of the protesters belonged to the same group that earlier launched a hunger strike inside the Oslo Cathedral. Among the speakers was Bjørnar Moxnes, a leader of the left-wing [...]

Norway condemns arrests in Belarus

Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre joined the European Union and US on Monday in condemning police violence and mass arrests of opposition leaders in Belarus following the country’s presidential election on Sunday. The Norwegian government claimed the election was neither free nor democratic. “The brutal manner in which unrest after the election has been handled [...]

Predator protest latest of many

Farmers from all over Norway held their latest noisy protest in front of the Parliament (Stortinget) in Oslo on Friday, this time against protection of wolves and other predators. It was a classic “rural vs. urban” confrontation, and a local professor warned that politicians let themselves be influenced by rural interests far too easily. The [...]

Quiet protest over Belarus election

A controversial election planned in Belarus this weekend sparked a silent protest in downtown Oslo: A gag over the statue of Norwegian artist Christian Krohg, and a sign pleading for more freedom in the country ruled by a man often called “the last dictator” in Europe. It wasn’t clear who was behind the symbolic protest, [...]

Muslims denounce ‘Islamic idiot’

A broad spectrum of Muslims in Norway are denouncing young radical Mohyeldeen Mohammad as an “idiot,” saying he in no way represents their views. Politicians on both the left and right praised the Muslims’ own criticism of Mohammad, who left Norway on Sunday. Norwegian newspapers and newscasts were full over the weekend of reports that [...]

Radical Muslim activist arrested after making death threats

A Muslim demonstrator who sparked controversy over the weekend, for warning that a major terrorist attack could occur in Norway, was arrested in Larvik on Wednesday after making threats, but later released by police. Officials at state intelligence agency PST confirmed Thursday that they’re keeping an eye on Mohyeldeen Mohammad, however. He said in an [...]

Police used tear gas after squatters go amok

Police were called in to evict around 15 squatters out of an old building in downtown Oslo last week, and that set off demonstrations involving an estimated 200 persons. Their protests turned violent Thursday night and again during the weekend, when they lit garbage cans on fire, set off fireworks and threw various objects at [...]

Websites hacked as Muslim tensions rise

The website for Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet collapsed under a hacker attack Wednesday night, and a Turkish group is claiming responsibility. Dagbladet has been the target of Muslim protests over its publication last week of a caricature of the prophet Mohammed that Muslims found offensive. Hundreds of Muslim taxi drivers have staged impromptu strikes since the weekend and vow that protests [...]

Protesters demonstrate outside Iranian embassy

Police had to restrain demonstrators outside the Iranian embassy in Oslo on Wednesday, after angry opponents of the Iranian government assembled to mark the 31st anniversary of the Iranian revolution. They gathered both on the street across from the embassy and in front of the Norwegian parliament, to express their opposition to the Islamic regime [...]

Norwegians arrested in Copenhagen

Several Norwegian students were among the hundreds arrested for demonstrating outside the UN climate conference in Copenhagen over the weekend. Inside the conference, Norway and Mexico launched what’s being called a “joint model for climate funding” as the international climate talks wound up their first week. A group of students from Norway’s main agricultural college [...]

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