Does Norwegian Gunman Mirror American Extremism?

COMMENTARY | The news of the massacre of at least 76 people by a gunman and bomber in Norway has horrified people around the world. But beyond the horror, there's quite a lot for Americans to ponder concerning the roots of this incident.

A Norwegian now in custody, Anders Behring Breivik, has stated he committed the shootings and bombing. His online writings make his motives clear. In a 1,500-page online manifesto, Breivik presented passages copied from American "Unabomber" Ted Kaczynski's writings, lightly reworded to position the manifesto as a condemnation of multiculturalism, specifically tolerance for Islam in Europe.

To fight that tolerance, in his manifesto, Breivik claimed to have been involved in the founding of a neo-Knights Templar organization with the agenda of ridding Europe of Islam, through a violent revolution against governments that tolerated multiculturalism.

The U.S. has been engulfed in its own debates about multiculturalism and religious tolerance, debates that have become increasingly strident over the decade since the 9/11 attacks. In July alone, GOP presidential hopeful Herman Cain stated towns should have the right to prevent the building of mosques, and two Sikhs in California were killed in what is widely suspected as a hate crime intended for Muslims. On a larger scale, one can even see debates about whether such Mormons as Mitt Romney or Jon Huntsman are fit to be U.S. president are an aspect of religious anti-multiculturalism.

It is worth remembering that the First Amendment to the Constitution not only grants freedom of religion, but specifically forbids Congress from showing any favoritism to a specific religion, including Christianity. Beyond the legalities, though, we need a national discourse specifically on religion.

We need to consider what religious freedom really means in America, what our fears are, and what our hopes are, as well. We need to consider what being American really obligates us to, in terms of religious tolerance, and even what "tolerance" means.

If we don't find a way to make peace within our body politic over religious differences, we foster an environment in which people like Breivik can thrive on American shores. If we don't find a way to revivify American values -- values that are inherently multicultural -- then it is just a matter of time before we see more of his kind of violence on American soil.