Anders Behring Breivik, in his manifesto spanning more than 1,500 pages, the accused perpetrator of the most serious incident claiming human lives in Norway since World War II pays homage to Budapest (his favorite city), as well as historic figure János Hunyadi.

Breivik is charged with the murder of 76 people after a revised death toll through a bomb attack in downtown Oslo and then gunning down numerous participants at the Norwegian Labor party’s youth retreat on the island of Utoya.

In the lengthy document entitled 2083: A European Declaration of Independence, he – or Andrew Berwick as the document is signed - highlights the merits of Hunyadi, governor of Hungary and victor in fending off the historic Turkish attack on Nándorfehérvár (present day Belgrade) in 1456.

“Janos (John) Hunyadi, Hungarian warrior and captain-general, is today virtually unknown outside Hungary, but he probably did more than any other individual in stemming the Turkish invasion in the fifteenth century,” the document reads. Accordingly, the text attributes saving western civilization from “falling to Islam”. “Yet hardly anybody in West knows who he is. Our children don’t learn his name, they are only taught about the evils of Western colonialism and the dangers of Islamophobia.”

Over the first several hundred pages of the “compendium”, Breivik deals in depth with the history of Europe, especially the eastern parts and consequently Hungary. These were the areas of the continent that were regularly exposed to military conflicts with the Ottoman empire for hundreds of years, which he attributes to be the major cause of the influx of Islamic influence in Europe and the related “Cultural Marxism”.

Hungarian connection

Breivik also reflects on other ties to Hungary. Apparently, his best friend since the age of 19 is a man of Hungarian descent named Petter with whom he spent a five-day party spree in Budapest in 2009. He refers to the Hungarian capital as his favorite city with pretty women, a vibrant nightlife and a great scene for vocal elektronika, his musical genre of choice.

More importantly, he mentions that his cause has a strong following in Hungary. In fact, he claims that one of the handful of members who established the Knights Templar order where he holds a rank of Justiciar Knight in 2002 was Hungarian. 

Unsurprisingly, Hungarian authorities also got involved in the matter. As the tabloid daily Blikk reported, the country’s counter-terrorism unit began inquiries and identified the women Breivik spent time with during his excursion. The authorities divulged no more of the proceedings. In the meantime, Czech and Polish officials are also involved, since Breivik came to have arrived in Prague in a failed attempt to procure firearms and ordered components for his bomb from a Polish website.

Searching for allies

Breivik also highlighted Hungarian political sides as potential allies to the cause he represents. These include the parliamentary radical right group Jobbik, the now-marginalized MIÉP and the 64 Vármegye Ifjúsági Mozgalom (64 fort counties youth movement). The latter is of particular interest since its leader, László Toroczkai (himself earlier accused of terror crimes) actually received a letter from Breivik before his rampage commenced. In the message made public on commercial broadcaster TV2, Breivik issued a “call to European patriots”, encouraging them to join his movement.

Toroczkai said – having not yet studied the compendium – that according to his understanding, Breivik’s main grievance was with Islam, but it is not obvious whether he had other issues.

However, even a cursory review of the document does reveal that Breivik’s target is Islam, and – in his mind – the widespread political correctness and multiculturalism that allows it to propagate at the expense of Europeans.

Nonetheless – while pointing out that his was the only group in Hungary to receive the shooter’s letter – Toroczkai stressed that 64 Vármegye deeply condemns Breivik’s actions. Vona Gábor, head of Jobbik acted likewise, calling the events in Norway a “crime against humanity”. At the same time, he too stressed that Jobbik would remain adamant in its drive to revise the principles of European immigration.

Friend of the Roma

But looking at the manifesto, it becomes clear that Breivik was somewhat misguided in his search of allegiance in Hungary. Having thought that he found prospective followers (Toroczkai’s email address probably collected from the extensive Facebook campaigns he describes in detail), the actual goals of the assailant are very far from the views pursued by radicals in Hungary.

While local groups have had clearly defined enemies, namely Jewish financial interests and “gipsy crime”, Breivik envisioned a somewhat different future. He professes himself to be a strong supporter of Jews, as well as their efforts in the Middle East. Regarding the Roma minority he writes “a Nation of Rom should be established for European gypsies.”

Still, he does not seem to be too big on the integration goals that the European Union is now pursuing. When his vision of Muslims being completely deported from Europe comes to fruition, he starts taking inventory of the “rather large unpopulated areas” that become available. As such, the Roma-only nation envisioned would become a reality in Albania, Western Anatolia or Lebanon, once the room there is “freed up.”