It seems that most people in Europe — in the wake of the Paris massacres at the magazine Charlie Hebdo and the kosher supermarket — have either forgotten, or never been taught, that Muslims have invaded Europe several times before. In the Eighth Century, the Moors (Muslims from North Africa) succeeded in conquering Spain and the early medieval French King, Charles Martel, fought and put a stop to the Moors’ invasion of France. It took 800 years to expel Islam from Spain; the final expulsion of the Moors from Andalusia occurred 1492. Later, the Ottomans made it to the gates of Vienna in 1683. How has Islam’s nature and history in Europe been forgotten?
Norway, like many other countries in Europe after World War II, has built up an expansive welfare state. It is based on the principle of shared values, shared goals and shared faith in the state. Historically, Norway has prided itself in being a largely classless society with a large middle class, and only a small upper class or nobility.
In Norway’s educational system, history is not a valued subject. It is included either under the umbrella of “social studies” or “Norwegian.” This downgrading, combined with the erosion and virtual removal of Christianity from the education system, means that many are unaware of how their society and democracy were formed, or of the enormous prices paid to attain them. Recent generations seem to take them for granted.
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With immigration comes a larger gap between the poorest and richest than before, but Norway retains its strong social values of equality and its dream of solidarity — perhaps a key reason why socialism still has such a strong hold on the country.
Norway’s education system is permeated in an idealistic vision of equality and a belief in cultural relativism: that everyone, every culture and every religion are of the same value. Schools and even preschools are obliged to work toward wiping out class differences. As the state opposes the idea of private schools, there is virtually no alternative to the state school. The majority of teachers are idealists who believe in the idealism they are obliged to preach.
Cultural and religious relativism prevail. Islam is presented in schoolbooks as “just another religion.” Key practices, such as washing before praying, and praying five times a day, are presented; but Mohammed’s biography, Islam’s ideology and agenda, the concept of the kafir [infidel] and all its aggressive contents are brushed under the carpet. Islam is presented as an attractive
religion, not an ideology, and is portrayed as if has already been reformed, a situation that is just not the case.There is no tradition of debate clubs in Norway; the result is pressure for consensus of views and thoughts. To debate, in England, is considered an art. Many schools have debate clubs, and there is no harm seen in disagreeing strongly, then still going after to the pub. In Norway, in the workplace, to disagree is not always a safe option. To express an opinion that runs against the stream can be associated with “being difficult,” “argumentative,” and that what you think is “wrong,” with unpleasant overtones of “you are wrongly programmed.”
Full article: Norway: The People’s Revolution vs. The “Religion of Peace” (Gatestone Institute)
Global Geopolitics 