Oslo Still Proud Despite Religious Shootings

Oslo’s Pride March was cancelled after  Zaniar Matapour, a known religious extremist with links to criminal groups shot dead two middle aged men outside a gay pub in the city. LGBTQ Nation in the States notes that passers by bravely fought the evil gunman, who the security services says is steeped in hetero supremacism and anti-democratic intolerance. Members of the public held Matapour until Police arrived and took him into custody. Police spokesperson Roger Berg said that Matapour had a long history of violence and threats and questions are already being asked about why he and his internet followers were not intercepted sooner. Although Pride itself was cancelled because of the terror threat, the Voice of America station reported that thousands staged an impromptu march through Oslo, chanting “We’re here. We’re queer. We won’t disappear”. LGBTQ Nation reminds also that whilst Matapour was linked with religious extremists, no one should be under any illusions that these are a fringe group within Norwegian Islam. The newswire editorialised: “Islamic extremism is similar to Christian extremism in its anti-LGBTQ fervor, but Muslim culture isn’t inherently anti-gay … Islamic history is filled with texts openly depicting homosexuality as a beautiful, matter-of-fact thing; and more American Muslims support same-sex marriage than do Christian Evangelicals, Protestants, and Mormons, according to a Pew Research Study.”