Mæland and Sanner visits the August 10th Memorial

The new August 10th Center is to commemorate the terror attack on Al-Noor Mosque and to fight hate. On Monday, the center was visited by Guri Melby(V) and Jan Tore Sanner(H).

-” We should be vigilant towards hate speech and prejudice and the serious consequences it may have.”, Said a board member, Hawa Muuse, at the August 10th Foundation to NTB.

Will prevent hate and discrimination

Although the center is based on the 10th of August attacks on 2019 and is located by the mosque, Muuse emphasizes that the center is run by the foundation and is independent from the mosque.

-” There is a specific hate in communities against people who are different and a part of a minority. Whether it is because of your gender, religion, or something else, it has the same factors behind it.”, said Muuse.

She is now hoping that the center can become a cultural center with preventative information directed towards children and the young people. The foundation also wants to support the Norwegian investigation on terrorists.

Hoping for public support

Monday’s visit from the Minister of Knowledge and Integration, Guri Melby, the Finance Minister, Jan Tore Sanner, and Mayor Lisbeth Hammer Krog in Bærum County is important with regards to political and public support, also for awareness towards the foundation, she believes.

-”Otherwise we are afraid that it will be forgotten. Our main goal is for what happened on August 10,2019 will not be forgotten..” says Muuse.

-” The PST has made known that the father is still there, and much remains to be done locally and nationally to prevent these events from recurring again. As for us, we feel this is a responsibility we must take, but we have to take it together with the general public.”, she emphasizes.

Supports the work against terror and radicalization

Whether the center will get support in unsure, but Melby said she supports the work by placing terrorism and radicalization on the agenda, and by spreading the knowledge to the youth and population.

-” It is positive to see something so traumatic can lead towards engagement and beneficial work towards the community.”, the minister said to NTB.

Together with the board she was given a tour of the Al-Noor Mosque where Philip Manshaus (22) on the 10th of August 2019 began shooting people. Manshaus had already killed the adopted sister of Johanne Zhangjia Ihle-Hansen(17). He was quickly overpowered by Muhammad Rafiq and Mohammad Iqbal. The both of them received the Medal Noble Deeds for averting further loss of life.

-” These are people who experienced something terrible. It is important to hear how the experienced it and how they are doing now.”, said Melby.