Speech at the Memorial Service for the Deceased in Oslo and at Utøya

We are all gathered here today to remember and mourn the victims of the terrorist attack in Oslo and at Utøya. 76 lives were lost in this tragic act. These 76 individuals leave behind weeping, grieving, and devastated relatives, friends, and fellow citizens.

This is an incident we could never have imagined here in Norway. An attack on the heart of democracy. Cynical murder of young people who had their whole lives ahead of them.

The unthinkable became reality. These lives have not been lost in vain. We shall not let them be lost in vain. The blood of the innocent will breathe new life into all of us.

A life where we preserve our good values. Values such as peace, openness, tolerance, mutual respect, and not least love of neighbor and humanity.

A life where we help each other fulfill our dreams of a good, peaceful, and harmonious society.

An already good and peaceful Norwegian society, we shall make even better in every way. This was no random act, seized by the moment. It was a carefully calculated and long-planned attack on the multicultural, open democracy that Norway represents.

It is important that society responds. That we express our disgust at this type of cruelty so that such extremist actions, and even thoughts, cannot be allowed to be nurtured and developed further.

The Crown Prince said yesterday: “After July 22, we can never again allow ourselves to think that our opinions and attitudes are without significance.”

These are words we must take note of and think carefully about as we now move into the future.

We are gathered here in God’s house, across religions, cultures, and ethnicities to mourn the dead. We are a diverse society, and today we remember a diverse group of innocent victims.

This is a tragedy. Not only for us in Norway, but for the entire world regardless of nationality, religion, or continent. It was an attack against all of humanity.

What has happened is simply so unjust, no one has the right to take another human being’s life. Words like incomprehensible, sad, cruel feel too small to describe what has occurred. We turn to God and pray for the bereaved and extend our deepest condolences to them.

Najeeb ur Rehman Naz
July 26, 2011