About 40 people gathered for an anti-Islam demonstration in Oslo, and were met with jeers and chants of "no Nazis on our streets" from a larger group of counterdemonstrators.

The protest was staged by the Norwegian Defence League, a group inspired by the larger English Defence League, which has carried out rowdy anti-Islam protests in Britain. The defence leagues say they're not racists but "patriots" opposing a perceived Islamization of Europe.

Police spokesman Finn Belle said Saturday's demonstration was peaceful and police successfully kept the two sides apart. He said three counterdemonstrators were detained for disturbing the peace and were fined before being released.

Associated Press, 15 December 2012

The anti-racist website Vepsen reports that the NDL demonstration was addressed by Steve Simmons (Chris Redmond), head of the English Defence League's European operation. Vepsen counted 47 people at the rally. By contrast, the counter-protest drew several hundred participants.

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Mitt Romney held a meeting Thursday with a group of right-wing activists that included several leaders who have been vocal supporters of Rep. Michele Bachmann's (R-MN) Islamophobic witch hunt, deepening his association with right-wing, anti-Muslim sentiment.

One of the guests at Thursday's event was Vice President of the Family Research Council Jerry Boykin, who has a long history of Islamophobia, and once said that Islam "should not be protected under the First Amendment." Most recently, Boykin piled on to Bachmann's baseless indictment that top Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin is part of a Muslim Brotherhood plot. "I believe in some aspects of this situation there is support for the infiltration of the Muslim Brotherhood into our government, that sounds extremist but it is just a fact, it's a reality," he said.

Two others in attendance at Thursday's event – American Values president Gary Bauer and Focus on the Family founder James Dobson – penned a letter to House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) defending Bachmann's witch hunt. In that letter, they argued there is legitimate concern about "senior federal officials or branches of the federal government could be animated or influenced by groups affiliated with, or a philosophy grounded in, radical Islam."

Boehner ended up rebuking Bachmann and her Islamophobic effort – which is more than Romney has done. The presidential candidate has refused to condemn Bachmann saying, "I'm not going to tell other people what things to talk about."

Think Progress, 8 August 2012

See "CAIR asks Romney to explain meeting with infamous Islamophobe", CAIR press release, 9 August 2012

Also "Muslim leaders: Mitt enables Bachmann", Salon, 9 August 2012

And "Jerry Boykin: Romney's new Muslim-bashing pal", Salon, 9 August 2012

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This does show the misleading character of the police claim that the English Defence League would not be staging a march through Dewsbury but only a "static demonstration".

Numbers at EDL events continue to decline, however. The police estimate for attendance at the Dewsbury protest is 450. Other observers say it was even less.

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