Ethan
Topaz
11/24/13
1½ hours
Muslim immigration poses a problem because of profiling, extremists, and the many
civilian organizations opposed to their presence in Norway.
Norwegians are seemingly Xenophobic of Muslims in their society, this is because
mainstream media almost seems to support it. It appears that arguments about
immigrants are strongly Xenophobic. A prime example of this would be the
Norwegian Progress Party. The Progress Party stands as a “Conservative Liberal
Party” that seeks to create more restrictive immigration policies, integration and Law
and Order. This party received their peak amount of supporters in 2009 with a
staggering 614’717 votes (22.9%), the most any conservative liberal party has ever
achieved. A former member of this party, Ander Behring Breivik, killed over 70
people with two sequential terrorist attacks in 2011.
I believe that there are many historical events that led to the xenophobic ways of
Norway. One of those events would be the notorious 9-11. In this event Muslim
extremists tried to bomb the pentagon, the twin towers and the white house. These
extremists successfully destroyed the pentagon and twin towers. I believe that
Norwegians may feel threatened by the presence of Muslims because of the
prejudice of them being terrorists.
Another reason for xenophobia would be the fact that Norway has a very small
population. Being that Norway is self sufficient and only recently became a richer
country the Norwegians may feel threatened by others who could change their life
style. More people mean more competition and less chance of getting a good job,
good education, healthcare etc. Now, after Ander Behring attacked the Muslim
community tension between the two cultures are high.
I believe a good policy to improve xenophobia would be including a culture
curriculum in the public school system. This curriculum would educate children about
different religions, cultures etc. around the world. Assignments for this unit would
include learning about a different culture/religion and presenting it to the class.
The goal of this curriculum will be to create an understanding for different types of
cultures. Hopefully this will provide kids with an understanding of different cultures
and eventually decrease the amount of xenophobia in Norway for future generations
to come.
Ladegaard, Isak. "Norway's Problem With Immigration." Science Nordic. Science
Nordic, 28 Jan. 2013. Web. 24 Nov. 2013. <http://sciencenordic.com/
norways-problem-immigration>.
"The Progress Party." The Progress Party. Fremskrittspartiets Hovedorganisasjon,
n.d. Web. 24 Nov. 2013. <http://www.frp.no/nor/The-Progress-Party>.
Shegal, Ujala. "Media Reacts to News That Norwegian Terror Suspect Isn't
Muslim." The Wire. Atlantic Monthly Group, 23 July 2011. Web. 24 Nov. 2013.
<http://www.thewire.com/global/2011/07/
media-reacts-news-norwegian-terror-suspect-isnt-muslim/40322/>.