Fjordman

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Peder Jensen
Born Peder Are Nøstvold Jensen
(1975-06-11) 11 June 1975
Ålesund, Norway[1]
Other names Fjordman (pseudonym)
Alma mater University of Bergen
American University in Cairo
University of Oslo[1]
Occupation Personal care assistant, writer

Peder Are Nøstvold Jensen (born 11 June 1975) is a Norwegian blogger who writes under the pseudonym Fjordman[2][3] and who has been characterised as far-right[4][5] and Islamophobic.[6][7] Jensen wrote anonymously as Fjordman starting in 2005, until he disclosed his identity in 2011. He has been active in the counterjihad movement, which argues that multiculturalism, particularly Muslim immigration, poses a threat to Western civilization. According to The Independent, Jensen "has written numerous screeds accusing Muslims of secretly planning to take over Europe."[4] He has promoted this belief in a self-published book titled Defeating Eurabia,[8][9] and stated that "Islam and all those who practice it must be total and physically removed from the Western world".[6] The newspaper New Europe stated that Anders Behring Breivik was inspired by Fjordman's belief in a secret Muslim plan to take over Europe, and quoted him extensively - 111 times - in his manifesto.[10][11] In 2013 Fjordman was given financial support by the organization Fritt Ord to write a book "about the Anders Behring Breivik case and how I got dragged into it against my will".[12][13] According to the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, Fjordman is "considered a 'hero' among the bloggers and debaters constituting the new far right."[14] Fjordman considers himself being ostracized as a "public enemy" by pundits and politicians in Norway which he "had to flee" in 2011.[12]

Fjordman denies that he is an "extremist", and sees himself simply as having "a strong dedication to truth."[2][15]

The Norwegian professor Arnulf Hagen claims that there was much to suggest that Jensen had a Wikipedia account which made 2000 edits.[16]

Early life, education and work

Peder Jensen grew up in Ålesund, with a "Socialist Left-family".[17] His parents are well-known personalities in Ålesund; his father an arranger of music concerts with a past in the former Marxist-Leninist Socialist Youth League (m–l), and his mother a historian and writer.[18][19][20] Jensen himself was for a short period in his youth a member of the Socialist Youth, the youth organisation of the Socialist Left Party. In 2011 he said that he was not affiliated with any political party, but that except having voted once in an election for the Labour Party, he has voted for the Progress Party.[5][17]

Jensen finished his conscription service at the military camp in Setermoen. Considering himself an unsatisfactory soldier, he has never again touched a weapon.[5]

Before writing as Fjordman, Jensen wrote a few times in newspapers using his full name.[2] Early public writings from Jensen appear in 2000 in the national newspaper Dagbladet and the regional paper Sunnmørsposten, where he criticises feminism.[21][22] He also wrote comments under full name in newspapers Aftenposten and Verdens Gang.[23]

Jensen went on to study Arabic at the University of Bergen and the American University in Cairo.[5] By this time he had already begun to nurture a growing skepticism towards Islamic culture,[24] He was present in Cairo during the September 11 attacks. According to Jensen, "Western media claimed no Arabs were happy about the attacks. This is not true. Some of my neighbors celebrated the event with a spontaneous cake party, and felt what had happened was great.".[17] After returning home, Jensen began writing commentaries to Norway's leading newspapers, but claims his controversial opinions were not published by the mainstream media. After having a number of articles rejected, he eventually decided to start his own blog instead.[17] He wrote on several blogs under the pseudonym "Norwegian kafir" in the early 2000s, but eventually took the pseudonym "Fjordman" in 2005.[2]

During his early post-Cairo years Jensen also worked for the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Middle East. From the start of 2002 to the summer of 2003, he worked for them as an observer in Hebron, in the West Bank, in the service of the Temporary International Presence in Hebron (TIPH).[25] The TIPH mission in Hebron, which communicates with the Israeli army, is supposed to monitor the situation in the town. Jensen, who says that he turned against Islam after 9/11, remained in this position in Hebron until mid-2003.

Following this, he completed his master's degree in culture and technology from the University of Oslo. His master thesis, published in 2004, was titled Blogging Iran – A Case Study of Iranian English Language Weblogs, and discussed censorship and blogging in Iran.[5][26]

Following this, he worked at a day care centre until 2011, when his identity as the blogger Fjordman was revealed.[18][27]

Writings under the pen name Fjordman

Fjordman's last "blog about Islam, Scandinavian affairs and global politics". December 2005

Fjordman blogged on his own web log in 2005, giving it up at the end of the year.[28] Since then, he has "guested" and commented in other blogs including Brussels Journal, Gates of Vienna, Jihad Watch, Document.no, Faith Freedom International, Free Republic, Daily Pundit, Global Politician and FrontPage Magazine.[2] Fjordman published a compilation of his articles in print via lulu.com in November 2008.

Norwegian historian Vidar Enebakk has criticised the way he thought Fjordman misused academic research for political purposes.[29] Øyvind Strømmen argues that Fjordman's essays fulfill all the criteria of Roger Griffin's definition of fascism.[30]

Views

Jensen has written negatively about multiculturalism, the European Union, feminism and Islam. He is an outspoken proponent of Bat Ye'or's conspiracy theory of "Eurabia", according to which Europe and the Arab states would join forces to make life impossible for Israel and Islamize the old continent.[31] Jensen wrote an essay titled "The Eurabia Code" in support of the concept, in which he says that "[T]he 'Jewish threat' in the 1930s was entirely fictional, whereas the 'Islamic threat' now is very real."[32] His self-published book compiling his articles is titled Defeating Eurabia.[33] According to The Independent, Jensen writes "screeds accusing Muslims of secretly planning to take over Europe."[4] The conservative blog, The Brussels Journal, described the book as providing a "thorough analysis of the causes and circumstances of the islamization process."[34] As a solution to this imagined invasion, Jensen advocates the deportation of all Muslims back to their homelands.[6]

The Norwegian News Agency has stated that "Fjordman" "[is] considered a very central far-right and anti-Islamic voice in Europe."[35] Andrew Brown characterises him as "[an] Islamophobe who has for years been predicting civil war between Muslims and their neighbours."[36] The researcher Terje Emberland at the Norwegian Center for Studies of Holocaust and Religious Minorities states that "Fjordman"'s views are based on a conspiracy theory, and that "Islamophobes like Fjordman believe they have seen through an evil power that will throw Europe into a civil war. Therefore, they argue that all means must be used to save the Western culture; implicit in this is the threat of violence."[6]

Jensen believes that the Western governments promoting the influx of non-white immigrants are demonstrating "white masochism", and that white people have the right to "preserve [their] heritage" and be "under no obligation to commit collective suicide".[37] He denies that this is a white supremacist view, stating that "Whites ... are currently the only racial group specifically denied the opportunity to defend their countries and heritage."[37] He also rejects accusations of racism, stating that "non-whites attacking whites" constituted "the vast majority of racist violence in Western nations".[37] He argues that "in Europe today, Marxists and Leftists of all kinds virtually control Western media and academia",[38] and that "White critics of mass immigration" are systematically demonized as racists and right-wing extremists.[39] Jensen argues for the preservation of a native majority, including indigenous Europeans, and demands an extremely restrictive immigration policy, the dissolution of the European Union and the "rejection of multiculturalism". He argues that otherwise, Europeans would have to conclude that the governments have given up on their people, and that the laws and taxes which they impose on them are therefore illegitimate.[40]

2011 Norway attacks

Shortly after the bombing of Oslo in the 2011 Norway attacks (when it still was believed the terrorist was an Islamist), Fjordman asked his regular readers at the Gates of Vienna blog to "remember" that Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg was as much a "pathetic sucker for Islam as it is humanly possible to be" and his Labour/Socialist Left/Centre Party government “the most dhimmi appeasing of all Western governments (…) suicidal and cowardly”.[41] When the shooting at Utøya became known a few hours later, Fjordman described the Workers' Youth League (AUF) under attack as a "gang of anti-Israeli, pro-Palestine youth-socialists".[8] Jensen also voiced a rather basic antipathy towards Oslo's immigrant population: in relation to a TV interview with a man referred to as a "Norwegian eyewitness" – a person of Arab origin who had the windows of his restaurant blown to pieces by the blast – a Gates of Vienna reader sarcastically said to Jensen that he did not know Norwegians looked so much like Arabs. Jensen's reply was that "in Oslo they do. Arabs, Kurds, Pakistanis, Somalis, you name it. Anything and everything is fine as long as they rape the natives and destroy the country, which they do".[41]

Anders Behring Breivik, the man accused in the 2011 Norway attacks, frequently praised writings of Fjordman,[42] citing him extensively in his manifesto.[43] In terms of goals and means Breivik is quoted as saying, "Our views are quite similar with the exception of me being an actual armed resistance fighter."[4] In response to learning the identity of the terrorist, Fjordman strongly distanced himself from Breivik, whom he referred to as a "violent psychopath", and said he "intensely dislike[d]" the fact that he was cited by Breivik.[44] He also advocated giving Breivik the death penalty.[45]

In particular, there is a 2008 article in the anti-Islamic blog The Brussels Journal[46] where Fjordman focuses on a quote from Norwegian social anthropologist Thomas Hylland Eriksen.

"Our most important task ahead is to deconstruct the majority, and we must deconstruct them so thoroughly that they will never be able to call themselves the majority again." –Thomas Hylland Eriksen (2008)[47]

Apparently based on Fjordman's article, this quote has since become a focal point of the 1,500-page manifesto of Breivik, as well as Breivik's defence speech during his 2012 trial. Following the terror attacks the quote has been oft repeated by right-wing extremists all across Europe. Eriksen has since admitted that taken out of context the quote does look scary, but that it has a much more innocent meaning when properly understood.[48]

In the aftermath of the attacks, the police confiscated Jensen's PC and questioned him,[3] saying they wanted to "investigate how [he] might have influenced the charged man".[49] In the weeks following the terrorist attacks, there was intense speculation regarding his identity. The week after the attacks Jensen reported to PST, the Norwegian internal security police. A few days later he was called in for questioning, and agreed to have his premises searched. The same day he revealed his identity in an interview with the newspaper Verdens Gang,[5][2] and proclaimed that he would never again blog under the pseudonym Fjordman. He also questioned whether he would ever return to blogging, citing his exhaustion from the time after the attacks.[50]

The next day he did blog under that name,[51] describing how he had felt abused when the police searched through his house, a treatment he viewed as "politically motivated".[52][53] Prior to the search Jensen hid his computer in a safety deposit box at the central station in Oslo.[54] According to the police he had not intended to provide the computer, but changed his mind when he understood that the police would ask for a court order if he refused.[55]

Blog announcement of 10 October 2011

On 10 October 2011, Jensen announced on a blog that due to having been involuntarily mixed in with the Breivik-case, he had become unemployed and was in the process of finding a new place to live. He in turn asked for donations from his supporters in what he dubbed a "Fjordman Relocation Fund". He also complained that his reply to a critical article in newspaper Aftenposten had been rejected by the newspaper (it was instead, however, published on the same blog), and about having been indirectly parodied in a Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation show as a paraplegic character whose last name was "Fjordland."[56][57]

Continued writings

Jensen wrote in an opinion piece published in Verdens Gang on 24 October, under the headline "Fjordman lives on," that he would continue writing with "undiminished force." He also announced that he would continue publishing his writings on blogs in English and Norwegian if newspapers would not publish them, and that he planned to release a new book by the next year. In an opinion piece published in Aftenposten the same day, he complained about what he considered to be harassment by the police in the aftermath of the July terror attacks.[58]

In 2013, Jensen was granted 75,000 Norwegian kroner from the Fritt Ord foundation for a book he is writing on the Breivik case, titled Witness to Madness. The grant was criticized by AUF leader Eskil Pedersen [59]and others who considered the grant as giving a platform to political extremism and offensive to victims and survivors of the 2011 terror attacks.[60][61]

Print publications

  • Defeating Eurabia. Bj Books, 2008. ISBN 978-1-4092-4715-9
  • Appendix in: Ole Jørgen Anfindsen. Selvmordsparadigmet: hvordan politisk korrekthet ødelegger samfunnet. [The Suicide Paradigm: How Political Correctness Destroys Society.] Oslo: Koloritt, 2010. ISBN 978-82-92395-79-0
  • Europa verteidigen. Zehn Texte. Albersroda 2011. ISBN 978-3-935063-66-1

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 ""Fjordman" står frem" (in Norwegian). Norwegian News Agency. 5 August 2011. Retrieved 10 August 2011. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Meland, Astrid (5 August 2011). "Peder Nøstvold Jensen (36) står fram som Fjordman". Dagbladet (in Norwegian). Retrieved 5 August 2011. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Hopperstad, Morten; Vikås, Marianne; Widerøe, Rolf J.; Torgersen, Hans Henrik; Brenna, Jarle; Ravndal, Dennis; Andersen, Gordon (5 August 2011). "Breivik's political idol "Fjordman" emerges from anonymity". VG Nett (Verdens Gang). Retrieved 28 October 2011. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Jerome Taylor (6 August 2011). "Unmasked: the far-right blogger idolised by Breivik". The Independent. Retrieved 6 August 2011. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 Hopperstad, Morten; Vikås, Marianne; Widerøe, Rolf J.; Torgersen, Hans Henrik; Brenna, Jarle; Ravndal, Dennis; Andersen, Gordon (5 August 2011). "Peder Jensen er drapsmannens forbilde "Fjordman"". VG Nett (in Norwegian). Verdens Gang. Retrieved 28 October 2011. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Meland, Astrid; Melgård, Marie (6 August 2011). "Fjordman foreslo nazi-løsning". Dagbladet (in Norwegian). Retrieved 8 August 2011. 
  7. ↑ http://www.klassekampen.no/59146/article/item/null/fjordman-jobba-i-hebron
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Giæver, Anders (5 August 2011). "Fjordmann lar masken falle". Verdens Gang (in Norwegian). Retrieved 8 August 2011. 
  9. ↑ Strømmen, Øyvind (5 August 2011). "Fjordmans manifest". Dag og Tid (in Norwegian). Retrieved 8 August 2011. 
  10. ↑ Carling, Andy (10/07/2012). "‘Breivik’s mentors’ in European Parliament". New Europe. Retrieved 11 November 2013. 
  11. ↑ Ravndal, Dennis; Hopperstad, Morten; Vikås, Marianne; Brenna, Jarle; Widerøe, Rolf J.; Andersen, Gordon (5 August 2011). "- "Fjordman" oppfordrer indirekte til vold". VG Nett (in Norwegian) (Verdens Gang). Retrieved 6 August 2011. 
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Fjordman: My Life as a Public Enemy, Frontpage Magazine, 26 June 2013, retrieved 26 June 2013
  13. ↑ Eskil Pedersen reagerer kraftig på Fjordman-pengestøtte, VG
  14. ↑ Sandvik, Siv (3 August 2011). "Fjordman hevder han vil hjelpe politiet i terroretterforskningen". Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 8 August 2011. 
  15. ↑ Meldalen, Sindre Granly; Meland, Astrid (25 July 2011). "Dette er terroristens store politiske forbilde". Dagbladet (in Norwegian). Retrieved 28 October 2011. 
  16. ↑ Høyreekstremt angrep på Wikipedia (Norwegian), Torgny Hasås, LO-Aktuelt, FriFagbevegelse.no
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 Vikås, Marianne; Hopperstad, Morten; Ravndal, Dennis; Torgersen, Hans Henrik; Widerøe, Rolf J.; Andersen, Gordon; Brenna, Jarle (5 August 2011). "Vendepunktet kom da egyptiske naboer feiret 11/9". VG Nett (in Norwegian) (Verdens Gang). 
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Svardal, Yngve Garen (5 August 2011). "Tar sterkt avstand fra sønnens holdninger". TV2 (in Norwegian). Retrieved 31 August 2011. 
  19. ↑ Ravndal, Dennis; Hopperstad, Morten; Vikås, Marianne; Brenna, Jarle; Torgersen, Hans Henrik; Widerøe, Rolf J.; Andersen, Gordon (5 August 2011). ""Fjordman"s pappa: – Motsatt av alt vi står for, men han er sønnen min". VG Nett (in Norwegian) (Verdens Gang). Retrieved 28 October 2011. 
  20. ↑ Olausen, Lars (21 January 2009). "40 år siden SUF (m–l) ble stiftet". NyttiUka (in Norwegian). Retrieved 28 October 2011. 
  21. ↑ "Brutt kontrakt". Dagbladet. 20 November 2000. Retrieved 8 August 2011. 
  22. ↑ Jensen, Peder Are Nøstvold (21 December 2000). "Menn er barn" (PDF). Sunnmørsposten (in Norwegian). Retrieved 28 October 2011. 
  23. ↑ Utne, Tormod (5 August 2011). "Fjordman skrev debattinnlegg under eget navn" (in Norwegian). Norwegian News Agency. Retrieved 28 October 2011. 
  24. ↑ Fjordman (13 January 2012). "FJORDMAN INTERVIEW IN GERMAN PAPER JUNGE FREIHEIT: EUROPE IS THE SICK MAN OF THE WORLD". Tundra Tabloids. Retrieved 16 January 2012. 
  25. ↑ "Fjordman var UD-observatør på Vestbredden" (in Norwegian). Norwegian News Agency. 5 August 2011. Retrieved 15 August 2011. 
  26. ↑ Jensen, Peder Are Nøstvold (2004). "Blogging Iran – A Case Study of Iranian English Language Weblogs" (PDF). University of Oslo. Retrieved 6 August 2011. 
  27. ↑ Dagbladet, paper edition, 6 August 2011.
  28. ↑ "Goodbye and Merry Christmas from Fjordman". Fjordman.blogspot.com. 21 December 2005. Retrieved 25 July 2011. 
  29. ↑ "Skremmende bra". Verdens Gang (in Norwegian). 23 September 2011. 
  30. ↑ Strømmen, Øyvind (2011). "3". Det mørke nettet. Cappelen Damm. ISBN 978-82-02-37027-5. 
  31. ↑ Marján, Attila; André Sapir (2010). Europe's Destiny. Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 161. ISBN 0-8018-9547-2. 
  32. ↑ Fjordman. "The Eurabia Code". Chromatism.net. 
  33. ↑ Lister, Tim (27 July 2011). "Suspect admired bloggers who believe Europe is drowning in Muslims". CNN. Retrieved 29 July 2011. 
  34. ↑ "Fjordman's book "Defeating Eurabia"". The Brussels Journal. Retrieved 29 September 2012. 
  35. ↑ "- Blogget, men er ikke Fjordman" (in Norwegian). Norwegian News Agency. 23 July 2011. Retrieved 28 July 2011. 
  36. ↑ Brown, Andrew (24 July 2011). "Anders Breivik is not Christian but anti-Islam". The Guardian blogs. Retrieved 29 July 2011. 
  37. ↑ 37.0 37.1 37.2 Fjordman (9 October 2007). "Age of White Masochism". Gates of Vienna. Retrieved 31 July 2011. 
  38. ↑ Fjordman (2 November 2009). "The Cold War Never Ended". Brussels Journal. Retrieved 28 October 2011. 
  39. ↑ Fjordman (20 August 2007). "The White Race: Going Gently Into That Good Night". Global Politician. Retrieved 31 July 2011. 
  40. ↑ Strømmen, Øyvind (26 July 2011). "Ingen einsam ulv". Bergens Tidende (in Norwegian). Retrieved 29 July 2011. 
  41. ↑ 41.0 41.1 Berg-Nordlie, M: "In the wake of terrorism. Countering discourses of ethnic hatred". NIBR International 08.09.2011
  42. ↑ Esman, Abigail R. (23 July 2011). "What Really Lies Behind The Oslo Attacks – And Why It May Happen Again". Forbes blogs. Retrieved 28 October 2011. 
  43. ↑ Doward, Jamie; Burger, Vicus; Burton, James (30 July 2011). "EDL leader demanded debate on killing David Cameron and archbishop". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 October 2011. 
  44. ↑ Thorenfeldt, Gunnar (27 July 2011). "Sier han har møtt Breiviks hemmelige norske idol". Dagbladet (in Norwegian). Retrieved 28 July 2011. 
  45. ↑ Meland, Astrid; Krokfjord, Torgeir P.; Thorenfeldt, Gunnar (3 August 2011). "Kjenner identiteten til Breiviks anonyme idol". Dagbladet (in Norwegian). Retrieved 15 August 2011. 
  46. ↑ Fjordman (10 December 2008). "On Deconstructing the Majority: Nothing To Do With Islam? Really?". The Brussels Journal. Retrieved 3 May 2012. 
  47. ↑ Eriksen, Thomas Hylland (18 June 2008). "[Hopes for another five Culcom years]" (in Norwegian). Håper på fem nye Culcom-år. Interview with Khazaleh, Lorenz. University of Oslo. https://www.uio.no/forskning/tverrfak/culcom/nyheter/2008/hylland-eriksen.html. Retrieved 3 May 2012. "Den viktigste hvite flekken består nå i å dekonstruere majoriteten og gjøre det grundig slik at den aldri kan kalles majoritet lenger,"
  48. ↑ Holte, Magnus Aamo (17 April 2012). "Hjemsøkt av forskningssitat" [Haunted by research quotation]. Bergens Tidende (in Norwegian) (Bergen, Norway). Retrieved 3 May 2012. 
  49. ↑ Jegtvik, Karin; Skille, Øyvind Bye; Sandvik, Siv; Andersen, Ingunn (4 August 2011). "Fjordman avhørt i Oslo" (in Norwegian). Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 4 August 2011. 
  50. ↑ Skybakmoen, Jonas (12 August 2011). "Fjordman avviser nye blogg-rykter". Adresseavisen (in Norwegian). Retrieved 14 August 2011. 
  51. ↑ Meland, Astrid (6 August 2011). "Jeg ble behandlet som en drapsmistenkt". Dagbladet (in Norwegian). Retrieved 7 August 2011. 
  52. ↑ Fjordman (5 August 2011). "Fjordman: My Afternoon With The Police". Gates of Vienna. Retrieved 8 August 2011. 
  53. ↑ Kirknes, Hanne Løvik (7 August 2011). "Fjordman raser mot politiet". ABC Nyheter (in Norwegian). Retrieved 7 August 2011. 
  54. ↑ Brenna, Jarle; Norman, Mona Grivi; Vikås, Marianne; Hopperstad, Morten; Torgersen, Hans Henrik; Widerøe, Rolf J. (7 August 2011). ""Fjordman" fjernet pc-en før avhør". Verdens Gang (in Norwegian). Retrieved 7 August 2011. 
  55. ↑ "Gjemte pc-en før politiavhør". Nettavisen (in Norwegian). 7 August 2011. Retrieved 7 August 2011. 
  56. ↑ Sandvik, Siv (10 October 2011). ""Fjordman" tigger penger på nett" (in Norwegian). Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 10 October 2011. 
  57. ↑ Ravndal, Dennis; Vikås, Marianne (10 October 2011). ""Fjordman" tigger penger på nettet: – Har mistet jobben og måttet flytte fra leiligheten". Verdens Gang (in Norwegian). Retrieved 10 October 2011. 
  58. ↑ "Fjordman lover comeback" (in Norwegian). Norwegian News Agency. 14 October 2011. Retrieved 25 October 2011. 
  59. ↑ Oda Marie Midtbøe (14 June, 2013): Eskil Pedersen reagerer kraftig på Fjordman-pengestøtte (Norwegian) VG, retrieved 14 June, 2013
  60. ↑ Sigrid Helene Svendsen (14 June, 2013): Fjordman» får penger fra Fritt Ord (Norwegian) VG, retrieved 14 June, 2013
  61. ↑ Sondre Valen (14 June, 2013): Belønning til ekstremismen(Norwegian) NRK, retrieved 14 June, 2013

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