Anders Behring Breivik, who has admitted to killing approximately eighty people and injuring many others in a violent rampage across Norway, on Monday pleaded not guilty to charges of terrorism. Breivik informed Judge Kim Heger that he believes the killings were necessary.
“What the court understands (is) the accused believes that he needed to carry out these acts in order to save Norway and Western Europe from among other things cultural Marxism and Muslim take over,” Heger stated after the hearing.
The 32-year-old Breivik posted a 1,500-page manifesto online shortly before the killings where he argued that Marxism and Islam are growing threats to Norway and Europe. Breivik said he had been planning the attacks for years and hoped the massacre would help to market his manifesto.
Breivik wrote of his admiration for the Knights Templar, who he described as “a defensive military organization who only seek to protect the peoples of Europe and our cultures from genocide.” The Norwegian hoped this group would lead the revolution to save Europe from Marxist and Islamic influences.
Breivik has been labelled as a “Christian terrorist” or “Christian fundamentalist” in some sections of the media because he identified himself as a Christian on his Facebook page. In the manifesto, however, Breivik insists he is more of a ‘cultural Christian,’ writing:
“If you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and God then you are a religious Christian. Myself and many more like me do not necessarily have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and God. We do however believe in Christianity as a cultural, social, identity and moral platform. This makes us Christian.”