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or the last five years, there has been a major resurgence of right-wing political parties in a number of countries in Europe; we have seen this trend across Austria, France, the Netherlands and Sweden.

And then the shocking Friday massacre in Norway diverted the world’s attention to the emergence of this deadly form of terrorism.

The extreme right in Europe has become more visible in the sense they have been able to influence the policies of the elected government. Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron and German Chancellor Angela Markel have both recently lamented the “failure of multiculturalism” in their countries.

Meanwhile, Nicolas Sarkozy’s burqa ban has been a vote-winner in France, which is an important example of the growing visibility of the extreme right.

The suppression of racist sentiment and nationalism has been said to threaten local and national identities, particularly when coupled with massive immigration, notably from Muslim-majority countries.

On Monday, Anders Behring Breivik told the justice he had launched his attack in an effort to “save Europe”. Breivik as a conservative Christian said he was against multiculturalism. He said the growing trend of multiculturalism had provided space for cultural colonialism by those immigrants.

Norway has a population of only 5 million, 12 percent of whom are immigrants, and of that 12 percent nearly 5 percent are from Pakistan, Turkey and Iraq, and the growing percentage of immigrants has given space for ethnic sentiment within a multi-ethnic society.

The Friday tragedy has been a disgrace for Norway, which was seen as a beacon of peace. Norway’s capital is where the Nobel Prize is presented annually; during the World War I this country was a war-free zone, although during the World War II it was occupied by Nazis.

But this tragedy has at least alerted our attention to the fact that acts of terror can and will happen anywhere, even in the most peaceful countries.

Most of the prominent media has been discussing the brutality of Breivik and the possible emergence of a new form of right-wing terrorism after the demise of Osama bin Laden. The world should remain alert and vigilant in case Breivik is just one member of an unrevealed global network.

When President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono delivered his condolences for the victims on Monday, he also warned that the threat of terrorism could come from any segment of society.

This tragedy should remind us that we are also a nation with multiple ethnic groups and should also be wary of terrorism which could emerge among people of any background within society.

It is the duty of our intelligence agencies to note any indications within our society that could lead to possible sentiment among certain groups, be it in the name of religion, identity or race. Meanwhile, the security apparatus should not just focus on radical elements within the Muslim community, but broaden its scope to prevent the emergence of other neo-radical groups that could come up as an impact of an imbalanced society.

Kamilia Hamidah
Jakarta