Quilliam’s Scaremongering Tweets on ‘Islamists’ and the Norway killings

Following on from the update to my blogpost below, I decided to take a look at the Tweets issued by the government-funded Quilliam Foundation after news broke about the bombing in Norway to see how they attempted to frame the news agenda. Do also look at their responses to some people who evidently urged them to avoid rashly assuming that the killings were the acts of ‘Islamists’ or ‘jihadists’. Here is a selection of the Quilliam Foundation’s tweets in chronological order:

Tweet 1

Norway is part of NATO mission in Afghanistan. Jihadists may therefore view it as a legitimate target. #Oslo #Norway

Tweet 2
Many Islamists conflate Scandinavian countries. E.g. in 2006 Norwegian embassies were attacked following Danish cartoons. #Oslo #Norway

Tweet 3
Norway currently has six F16 fighter-bombers deployed over Libya. Perhaps significant in #oslobombing . #Oslo #Norway

Tweet 4
@ThankUAndGnite We also cover far-right extremism but in our opinion Oslo is probably a jihadist attack. Do u disagree?

Tweet 5
@mizzidien @AbdulAzim We also cover far-right extremism. Looks like a jihadist attack to us however. Curious to know yr thoughts though.

Tweet 6
Major Norwegian newspapers reprinted the Danish Mohammed cartoons only last year. #Oslo #Norway #Oslobombing http://t.co/HP8hfUE

Tweet 7
Worth noting: Norwegian mountain troops and special forces have played a key role in Afghan fighting since 2001. #Oslo #Norway #Oslobombing

Tweet 8
Gaddafi also recently threatened attacks in mainland Europe. If #Oslo carbomb intended to minimise casualties, this could point to Libyans.

And in case anyone doubts that all this speculative bullshit by Quilliam would actually be taken seriously by seasoned journalists, have a read of this blog by Will Heaven, the Assistant Comment Editor at the Daily Telegraph.

Update: Islamophobia Watch have fine coverage of the Quilliam Foundation’s irresponsible antics in connection with the tragic events in Norway here.