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Norway
Recently the Daily Mail sent me on a quick trip
to Norway in response to a UN report claiming that the Scandinavian country
is the world's best place to live. (The report was based on longevity,
infant mortality, literacy and the free provision of education and healthcare.)
I enjoyed Oslo very much, but the resulting light-hearted article, headlined
"Blandinavia," made much of the country's high prices and the
Norwegian tendency to gloominess -- while paying proper respect to the
beauty of Norway's people and landscapes. Though the article's jokiness
was signalled by a picture of myself dressed as a Viking and wearing a
blond wig, it duly provoked a furore in Norway after it was picked up
the Nordic press, leading to the following articles, webchats etc., much
national self-examination by Norwegian readers, and my appearance on NRK's
'Forst & Sist,' the Norwegian equivalent of Letterman. (I told the
interviewer on the show that I couldn't wait to go back and go cross-country
skiing etc. He said, "We'll be waiting for you.")
The
original Daily Mail Article: Blandinavia
(Download a PDF version here.)
The
webchat with lots of photos from the original shoot:
I found local blogs especially useful in my research for
the article. Among the most interesting ones in English are:
Secular Blasphemy
Many of them deal with Norway's confrontation with Islamic
extremism. The country plays host to one Mullar Krekar, the leader of
the Ansar al Islam (al Qaeda-linked) movement. But just as interesting
is the story of Shabana Rehman, a Norwegian stand-up comedienne born in
Karachi who has been threatened by Krekar and his ilk.
The fine American writer Bruce Bawer lives in Norway and his site www.Brucebawer.com
is invaluable for, among other things, its pieces on Norway and on issues
of European Islamism.
The only other time I've written anything about Norway is a review
of the film "Aberdeen."