Anders Behring Breivik saw himself as a holy warrior and crusader engaged in a war against a “Marxist-Islamist alliance” that he feared would take over Europe if not stopped. He hoped by his actions to inspire “thousands” to follow in his path. He described himself as a “martyr” and “resistance fighter.”

He described members of Norway’s Labour Party as “traitors” because of their alleged support of “multiculturalism and Islamisation.” Behring advocated “terror” attacks on mosques, especially during Muslim relgious holidays.

This is according to a 1,500 page manuscript Breivik himself wrote. Norway’s public broadcaster NRK reported on the manuscript and that Breivik had admitted to writing and disseminating it (Google translation of NRK report).

The manuscript consists of hundreds of pages of political analysis and ideology, plus a lengthy diary-like section setting out Breivik’s meticulous planning for yesterday’s attacks. Breivik also extensively cites anti-Muslim Dutch far-right anti-Muslim politician Geert Wilders.

Breivik signed the manuscript in terms which suggested he viewed himself as a crusader:

Andrew Berwick Justiciar Knight Commander

Knights Templar Europe

Knights Templar Norway

Breivik is a strong supporter of Israel and particularly of far-right nationalists such as foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman and his Yisrael Beitenu party. From a rapid assessement there is no indication that his attack was in any way motivated explicitly by such views, although he clearly viewed Israel as being engaged in the same “war” of which he saw himself as a part.

I downloaded a copy of the manuscript from a link provided on Twitter by a Norwegian journalist, however I have decided not to post a copy, because the manuscript in addition to Breivik’s political writings contains detailed instructions for how Breivik obtained guns and manufactured bombs. It also appears from the manuscript that Breivik was planning the attack for several years, including elaborate fronts like his farm business.

Here are however a few excerpts that may shed light on Breivik’s views and motivations:

“Martyr” and “resistance fighter”

In a section about himself, Breivik describes his profession as:

Investor, Director, Manager - founder of several companies, Small business management (including organisational development), political analyst, author, stock analyst/trader. Im unsure whether resistance fighter (Justiciar Knight Commander) and martyr counts as a profession:)

Breivik believed there is a “civil war” in Europe and spectacular attacks were needed

Breivik saw Europe as being engaged in a long “civil war” against his enemies that could last decades and would result in a “coup” in which a European nationalist regime would take over. During this civil war he sees:

Waiting for the right time to strike or create an opportunity. This can be accomplished by arranging incidents (assassinations or terror attacks on mosques during Id celebration etc) which would trigger major Muslim riots. If the riots are violent enough it can serve as a perfect occasion for the coup.

Breivik apparently saw himself as potential martyr in a broader European “resistance movement”:

I know that tens of thousands of brothers and sister all over Europe are fighting the good fight every single day. Fighting the cultural Marxist/multiculturalist alliance every single day. Many have sacrificed everything already; many are incarcerated and some have even martyred themselves. The media never write about their courageous and noble acts and the great majority of us are unknown to most people. The current Western European multiculturalist regimes are doing everything in their power to suppress our actions. Silencing us is their weapon of choice. They systematically and deliberately attempt to blackout everything so that as few people as possible know that there is an ongoing civil war. They do this to prevent recruitment. As history has shown so many times, the tide will turn in our favour when people least expect it. I salute every single brother and sister who contributes day in and day out! You are the true heroes of the conservative revolution! You inspire an increasing number of Europeans to follow in our path. Hadn’t it been for the brave and selfless actions of these European heroes, me and people like me would not have been inspired. I heard your calling and as a result I did my duty as many more will continue to do. Hopefully, I will be able to contribute and inspire others. We will experience many failures and it will get a lot more ugly before it gets better. However, never forget that thousands of brothers and sisters are doing all in their power to ensure our success every single day. We will succeed eventually as multiculturalism is a self-defeating ideology.

Labour Party are “traitors” like Nazis

In an entry dated “Autumn 2008,” Breivik wrote that he attended a birthday party in Oslo and that:

I noticed a majority of these people were Labour Party sympathisers. I guess they don’t really have a choice considering the fact that they are all climbing the public sector hierarchy. A thought occurred. The judges during WW2 who had party affiliations with the NS or any affiliation with the SS [Apparent references to Germany’s Nazi regime or its Norwegian puppet regime at the time] were prosecuted and imprisoned. Is it therefore only fair that judges of high rank with party affiliations to the Labour Party and the other parties who support multiculturalism (and therefore Islamisation) is to be considered category B or C traitors? They obviously have a considerable responsibility and should be considered traitors of their people….

After more such musing, he added:

If only they had any idea that one of their guests was a Justiciar Knight of an organisation affiliated with the Norwegian and European Resistance Movement, I would be thrown out immediately most likely. It is completely understandable as their careers would be over if they had any affiliation with such organisations or individuals.

Breivik hoped to “inspire thousands” with his attack

In a diary entry from 11 June (a period when he was intensively testing explosives) Breivik wrote:

I prayed for the first time in a very long time today. I explained to God that unless he wanted the Marxist-Islamic alliance and the certain Islamic takeover of Europe to completely annihilate European Christendom within the next hundred years he must ensure that the warriors fighting for the preservation of European Christendom prevail. He must ensure that I succeed with my mission and as such; contribute to inspire thousands of other revolutionary conservatives/nationalists; anti-Communists and anti-Islamists throughout the European world.

Testing his bomb

Monday June 13 - Day 43: I prepared a test device today and drove off to a very isolated site. The test bomb was composed of a 3g DDNP primary and a 30g PA secondary. If this test would fail, I would abandon operation A and move forward with the non-spectacular operation B. I lit the fuse, went out of range and waited. It was probably the longest 10 seconds I have ever endured… BOOM! The detonation was successful!!!:-) I quickly drove away to avoid any potential unwanted attention, from people in the vicinity. I would have to come back a few hours later to investigate the blast hole, to see if both compounds had detonated.

The need to strike early

Breivik saw the need to move against Muslims and their perceived allies early, when Muslims are still in the minority. As he explains, using Lebanon as an example:

Historically, even though the people have been in great distress and face chaos and bloodshed many people still cling to the hope of peace through appeasement (30% of men, 70% of women). They will simply refuse to contribute to deportations or any other pragmatic/rational and effective solution, something that is simply against their nature (after decades of indoctrination of pacifistic views). Christian Lebanon is a good example. Instead of striking when they were in majority they waited until the Muslims were in majority. Many Christian groups were sabotaging any rational (war) approach and wanted instead more appeasement. This continued until the civil war finally broke out. It is unthinkable for these people to make the necessary tough calls (rational decisions). We will illustrate this through the following question: If you could save 1000 individuals by sacrificing 100 people - would you contribute to indirectly kill these 100?