This weekend it will be five years since Norwegian terrorist Anders Breivik went to an island near the capital Oslo and killed 69 people, mainly teenagers. It was Norway’s most deadly attack since the Second World War. Breivik’s murderous spree remains shocking today, but in the intervening years such lone-wolf attacks have become increasingly common. In just the past week, there have been two attacks in Europe – the truck rampage in Nice and an attack by a 17-year-old asylum seeker in Germany – by people who had little formal connection to any extremist group.
Breivik’s attack was politically motivated – he was angered by what he perceived to be liberal policies in Norway and wanted to destroy a new generation of left-wing politicians. Yet, unlike those who take the political view of ISIL, he had to act alone. What is sometimes called right-wing terrorism, the use of violence by those who hold extreme nationalist, neo-Nazi or fascist views, no longer has organised violent groups in Europe. Over the years, these groups have been dismantled by the police, leaving those extremists who want to act on their violent ideas to do so themselves.
That, indeed, is the danger of ISIL-inspired terrorism even after the group is eventually defeated. Until recently, the worst terror attacks linked to ISIL have been perpetuated by them: the fighters have been trained and funded by them, not merely inspired. Defeating ISIL in Raqqa and Mosul is essential because it denies them a space to recruit, train and organise.
But even after they have been defeated, their ideology will live on, influencing others to commit crimes. That’s why the Breivik example is so relevant: online, he found like-minded people who reinforced his world view, and piece by piece he assembled the ingredients for a significant bomb and bullet rampage.
The attacks on Utoya and Oslo five years ago should serve as a reminder that the ISIL threat is not merely one that resides in a physical location. It is a battle of ideas. Terrorism, whether perpetuated by Breivik or by ISIL, starts in the mind of the perpetrator.