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Januar 2022 blev det officielt: Nu er en af de mest omtalte samiske trommer, Anders Poulsens fra 1692, endelig tilbage i norsk eje og kan ses på museum Sámiid Vuorká Dávvirat (De Samiske Samlinger) i Karasjok. Men hvem var Anders Poulsen og hvorfor har hans tromme været bevaret i 330 år? I denne masteropgave tager jeg for mig retssagen mod samen Anders Poulsen, der i 1692 måtte forklare sig i retten, anklaget for trolddom. Han var same og i besiddelse af en samisk tromme. Under retsprocessen blev der vist hvordan trommen blev brugt og forklaret hvad tegnene på trommen betød. Sorenskriveren nedskrev Anders Poulsens ord, der var blevet oversat af samelensmanden og de strækker sig over mange håndskrevne sider. For at forstå hvordan den dømmende magt så på samen og hans forklaring, er det vigtig med kontekst. Jeg ser på hvilke internationale og nationale strømningerne indenfor dæmonologien, der var med til at påvirkede retssystemet og lovgivningen i Danmark-Norge på 1600-tallet. Opgaven tager også for sig hvilke magtpersoner havde indvirkning på retssystemet og lokalsamfundet. Jeg undersøger også hvilke levevilkår befolkningen i Finnmark havde på 1600-tallet og hvordan den kan have påvirket trolddomssagerne. Gennem Anders Poulsens forklaringer af trommen og dens brug, bliver det belyst hvordan hans livssyn blev mødt fra den dømmende magts side. Der sættes fokus på hvordan samtiden opfattede og beskrev samers trolddom, i form af for eksempel gand og vejrmagi. Der argumenteres afsluttende med at den dømmende magt ser på samen Anders Poulsen, som en der ikke følger den rette lutherske tro, men blander det samiske og katolske. Den dømmende magt har set på Anders Poulsen som en tilbeder af Djævelen og udøver af vranglære. Der argumenteres for at deler af Anders Poulsens forklaring om tegnene på trommen, er troværdige. In january 2022 it was official: one of the most renowned Sámi drums, the one belonging to Anders Poulsen in 1692, is finally back in Norwegian hands, and can be seen at the Sámiid Vuorká Dávvirat (The Sámi Museum) in Karasjok. But who was Anders Poulsen and why has his drum been preserved for 330 years? In this master's thesis I will go through the court case against the Sámi Anders Poulsen, who in 1692 had to defend himself in court, on trial for sorcery. He was Sámi and in possession of a Sámi drum. During the trial it was explained how the drum was used, and what the symbols on it signified. The district judge documented Anders Poulsen's statement, which was translated by the Sámi constable, and covers several hand written pages. Context is important in the understanding of how the judging power viewed the Sámi and his statement. I will look at which international and national tendencies within demonology participated in influencing the legal system and legislation in Denmark-Norway in the 1600's. In My thesis I will also go through which people of power could influence the judicial system and local society. I will investigate which living conditions the people of Finnmark had in the 1600's, and how these could have affected the witch trials. Through Anders Poulsen's explanations of the drum and its use we can see how his view on life was met by the judicial power. The way his contemporary society understood and described the Sámi's sorcery, as for instance gand and weather magic, is a focal point. A concluding argument is that the judicial power views the Sámi Anders Poulsen as someone who does not follow the true Lutheran faith, but rather someone who combines the Sámi with the Catolic. The judicial power has seen Anders Poulsen as a worshipper of the Devil, and a practitioner of heresy. Arguments state that parts of Anders Poulsen's explaination in regards to the symbols on the drum are credible.

Denne masteroppgaven er en undersøkelse av religionsfaget i den norske grunnskolen fra etableringen på 1990-tallet til 2015. Oppgaven fokuserer på hvordan faget har blitt presentert som et viktig fellesfag i samtidens flerkulturelle Norge. Studien er basert på offentlige dokumenter, blant annet læreplaner, Norges offentlige utredninger (NOUer) og stortingsmeldinger, som fremviser de politiske ideene bak faget. Oppgaven fokuserer på religionsfagets tre sentrale målsettinger: Identitet, dialog og kunnskap. I analysen av fagets syn på identitet kommer utredningen Identitet og dialog spesielt frem, ved at utredningen argumenterer for at eksistensen av religionsfaget som et verdifag er spesielt viktig i samtiden. Utredningen fremviser at samtiden er preget av nye verditradisjoner, som negativt påvirker elevenes identitetsdannelsesprosess. Religionsfaget som et verdifag basert på religionene og livssynenes tradisjonelle verdier er dermed viktig for å gi elevene trygge rammer for identitetsdannelsesprosessen. Fagets fremhevelse av dialog, kommer frem i fokuset på kulturmøter mellom de tradisjonene som faget fremhever som "våre" tradisjoner og "de andre" tradisjonene som er representert av landets nye religionsmangfold. Det er tydelig at faget har et tosidig mål. Et mål om å fremheve og videreføre den norske kulturarven som er representert av "våre" tradisjoner, samt et mål om å inkludere "de andre" tradisjonene innenfor forståelsen av fellesskapskulturen. "Våre" tradisjoner er representert ved kristendommen, humanismen og de samiske tradisjonene. "De andre" tradisjonene er representert ved de andre verdensreligionene og andre religiøse bevegelser. Fagets kunnskapsdimensjon er koblet til fagets rolle som et ordinært skolefag, uten det gamle kristendomsfagets forkynnende element. Oppgaven ser på kunnskapsdimensjonen, ved å se på målet om å øke elevenes kulturelle kompetanse. Religionsfaget er skolens unike kulturfag som fokuserer på å gi elevene kunnskap om flere forskjellige kulturelle tradisjoner, som er viktig for å forstå kulturmangfoldet både i Norge og verden over. Oppgaven ser på hvilken kulturell kunnskap som er fremhevet i faget, og ser spesielt på skrift- og fortellingstradisjonene, historie og estetikk. Her er det tydelig at det er den kulturelle kunnskapen som er mest relevant innenfor den norske konteksten som er vektlagt. Likevel fremvises også mangfold, og det er noe tegn som tyder på at mangfoldet har fått en større plass i faget. Oppgaven fremhever gjennomgående at fagets som et politisk nasjonsbyggende prosjekt er viktig for religionsfagets målsettinger og innhold. Faget fremhever en spesiell forståelse av rikskulturen som vektlegger Norges kulturelle arv. Samtidig er faget viktig for det politiske prosjektet om å representere større deler av det flerkulturelle samfunnet og skape en ny forståelse for samtidens norske felleskultur. This Master thesis is a study of religious education in Norwegian primary education from the establishment in the 1990s to 2015. It focuses on how the subject has been presented as an important common core subject in today's multicultural Norway. The study is based on public documents, like curriculums, Official Norwegian Reports (NOUs) and Reports to the Storting, that show the political ideas behind the subject. The thesis focuses on the subject's three main goals: Identity, dialogue and knowledge. In the analysis of the subjects view on identity, the report Identity and dialogue is especially relevant. The report argues that the existence of religious education as a value subject is especially important in present day. The report shows that the present day is affected by new value traditions, that negatively affect the process of forming the students` identity. Religious education as a value subject based on the traditional values found in religions and life stances are therefore important in order to provide the students with a safe environment in order to form their identities. The subject's emphasis on dialogue is clear by the focus on culture meetings between what the subjects has named "our" and "the other" traditions. Traditions that are represented in the nation's new religious diversity. The subject has a dualistic goal. A goal of accentuating and carrying on the Norwegian cultural heritage that is represented in "our" traditions. And a goal of including "the other" traditions in the understanding of a bigger community culture. "Our" traditions are represented by Christianity, humanism and the Sami traditions. "The other" traditions are represented by the other world religions and other religious movements. The subject's knowledge dimension is connected to its role as an ordinary school subject, without the old Christianity subject's evangelizing element. This thesis looks at the knowledge dimension by looking at the goal of increasing the students` cultural literacy. The subject of religion is the school's unique cultural subject that focuses on giving the students` knowledge about several different cultural traditions, that are important for understanding the cultural diversity in both Norway and the whole world. The thesis looks at what kind of cultural knowledge is emphasized, and looks especially at text- and story traditions, history and aesthetics. Here it is clear that cultural knowledge that are most relevant withing the Norwegian context is emphasised. Still there is some attention to diversity, and some signs that point to an increasing focus on this diversity. The thesis shows that the subject as a nation building project is important for the subject's goals and content. The subject highlights a special understanding of the common culture that emphasizes Norway's cultural heritage. At the same time is the subject important for the political project of representing a bigger part of the multicultural society and creating a new understanding of today's Norwegian society.

Denne oppgaven analyserer bruken av religion i den originale Halo trilogien. Via en documentary style metode har forskjellige religiøse elementer blitt plukket ut og analysert. Metodologien som er brukt I analysen er en kombinasjon av forskjellige metodikker fra feltet religionsvitenskap. Jeg har tatt utgangspunkt i den tankegangen at jeg er ment å være en ny spiller som bare bruke den informasjonen som var gitt til spillerne på den tiden spillene ble utgitt. Jeg forklarer hvordan videospill har fått sin plass i vår kultur gjennom spredningen av teknologi og globalisering. Ved å gi et kort innblikk inn i verdenen til videospill, etablerer jeg hvor banebrytende den originale trilogien var og hvorfor den fortjener å bli studert i en verden av spillere. Gjennom analyse av religiøse elementer av de tre første Halo spillene, kommer jeg fram til noen mulige forklaringer som kan beskrive inspirasjonen til objektet. Etter den første analysen åpner jeg portene for all informasjon fra Halo for å teste om mine funn er korrekte eller om de trenger å bli reformulert. Jeg finner at de fleste av hypotesene mine er korrekte, spesielt funnene om styringsmåten og lederskapet i The Covenant. Noen menneskelige elementer måtte utdypes. Og The Forerunners har blitt utgitt så mye informasjon om at de har mistet sin mystiske status. This thesis analyses the use of religion in the original Halo trilogy. Through a documentary style method various religious element have been plucked out and analysed. The methodology used for analysation is a combination of different methods within the field of science of religion. I have done this with the mindset that I am supposed to be a new player and only use the information given to players at the time of the games release. I describe how video games have gotten to their position within our culture with the spread of technology and globalisation. By giving a brief look into the world of video games I establish how ground-breaking the original trilogy was and why it deserves to be studied in a world of gamers. Through the analysing of the religious element of the first Three Halo games I come up with some possible theories which can describe the origin of the subject. After the first analysation I open the flood gate for all the information from Halo so test if my finding is correct or need to be reformulated. I find out that most of my predictions are correct, especially my findings about government and leadership of The Covenant. Some of the human elements needed to be elaborated. And the Forerunners have been given so much information that they have lost their mystery status.

The topic of this dissertation is Nordic yoga practitioners’ perspectives on yoga, religion, and spirituality, based on a questionnaire and interviews. In the monograph I explore who the Nordic yoga respondents are, why they have started (and continued) a yoga practice, and their attitudes and alignment to traditional religion, non-religion and subjective spiritualities. In the contemporary popular view, yoga is typically associated with postural yoga as a fitness – or exercise activity that mainly engages the physical body (Jain 2015). Popular culture presents yoga as a health-promoting activity which enables the individual to better withstand stress, and as an aid in a culturally mandated quest for self-development and self-improvement. However, as it emerges in my material, yoga is also understood as a mind-body practice that connects the mental and the physical (and perhaps spiritual) aspects of a person in a way other forms of exercise do not. Respondents’ practices encompass everything from sitting meditation and expressions of personal devotion, to intensely physical, secular asana practice. An important aspect of this dissertation is yoga respondents’ “conversion” stories. There are many reasons why respondents have started a yoga practice, but health and social connections emerge as most common. Traveling is also an unexpectedly important factor in respondents’ yoga encounters. For most practitioners, yoga is not connected to religion. The category religion is primarily understood as organized, institutionalized world religion (in this case Lutheran Christianity) and as staid and undesirable – even among the respondents who self-define as Christian. Most respondents, however, are "nones" and/ or subjectively spiritual. In the yoga material, non-religion and spirituality are not mutually exclusive. However, yoga respondents take inspiration from yoga spirituality/ philosophy and modern, western Buddhism much more than from New Age or alternative spirituality. In addition to better health and quality of life, modern postural yoga offers respondents a ritualistic framework and an ethical orientation that fits a contemporary culture that embraces personal and aesthetic experience, being present in the body, and constructing places and activities that are both social and individualistic – and most of all meaningful (Frisk and Åkerbäck 2015). Denne studien undersøker nordiske yogapraktiserendes perspektiver på yoga, religion og spiritualitet basert på en spørreundersøkelse og intervjuer. I monografien utforsker jeg hvem de nordiske yogarespondentene er, hvorfor de har startet (og fortsatt) en yogapraksis, og deres holdninger og tilhørighet til tradisjonell religion, ikke-religion og subjektiv spiritualitet. I samtidens populære forståelse er yoga oftest assosiert med stillinger (asana), og med å være en treningsaktivitet som i hovedsak handler om den fysiske kroppen (Jain 2015). Populærkulturen presenterer yoga som en helsefremmende aktivitet som gir individet muligheten til å dempe stress, og som en del av en kulturelt meningsgivende søken mot selvutvikling og -forbedring. Likevel, slik yoga kommer frem i mitt materiale forstås det også som en «mind-body practice» som knytter sammen mentale og fysiske (og kanskje også spirituelle) menneskelige aspekter på en måte som andre treningsformer ikke gjør. Respondentenes praksisformer omfatter alt fra sittende meditasjon og uttrykk for personlig hengivenhet til intens fysisk og sekulær asana-praksis. Et viktig aspekt i denne avhandlingen er yogarespondentenes «konverterings»-historier. Det er mange grunner til at respondentene har startet med yoga, og helse og sosiale forbindelser er de to viktigste. Reising er også en uventet men viktig faktor i respondentenes møte med yoga. For de fleste respondentene er ikke yoga knyttet til religion. Kategorien religion er hovedsakelig forstått som organisert og institusjonalisert verdensreligion (i dette tilfellet lutheransk kristendom) og som noe stillestående og uønsket. De fleste respondentene er derimot «nones» (ikke-religiøse) og/ eller subjektivt spirituelle. I yogamaterialet er ikke det sekulære og det subjektivt spirituelle motsetninger. Men, yogarespondentene henter inspirasjon fra yogaspiritualitet eller -filosofi og moderne, sekulær buddhisme heller enn fra New Age og alternativ spiritualitet. I tillegg til bedre helse og livskvalitet gir yogaen respondentene et rituelt og etisk rammeverk som passer et moderne samfunn og en moderne kultur som omfavner personlige og estetiske opplevelser, det å være til stede i egen kropp, og det å skape steder og aktiviteter som er både sosiale og individualistiske – og mest av alt meningsfulle (Frisk og Åkerbäck 2015).

Denne masteravhandlingen samler og analyserer akademisk forskning som ser på utviklingene i makt og kjønn i Pashtun-dominerte regioner i nord-vest Pakistan. Den setter søkelys på utviklingen i diskursen fra 1960-tallet til 2020. Avhandlingen tar inspirasjon fra Kocku von Stuckrad’s bruk av «discourse-historical analysis» som forskningsperspektiv. I tillegg hentes inspirasjon fra metodene «traditional, conceptual, og scoping litteratur reviews». Studiet bruker disse perspektivene ved å organisere forskningen kronologisk, tilføre historisk kontekst, og kritisk utforske trender i diskursen. Avhandlingen identifiserer det dominerende fokuset i forskningsperioder og diskuterer hvordan forskningen har blitt påvirket av reproduksjonen av stereotyper, kolonial arv, og vestlig politisk og media diskurs. Analysen identifiserer fire hovedtemaer som er synlig i den akademiske litteraturen: Pashtunenes samfunnsstruktur, kjønn, «war on terror», og Islamsk lære. I det siste tiåret har forskningen på Pashtunene i nord-vest Pakistan blitt mer introspektiv, og den har tydeligere satt søkelys på overlappende faktorer. For å peke mot noen av de overlappende faktorene som fremtidig forskning bør sette søkelys på, fokuserer avhandlingen spesielt på to interesseområder. Gjennom analyseringen av tidligere maktmodeller kan avhandlingen bygge på tidligere forskning for å konstruere en modell over Pashtun-samfunnets maktfordeling. «Pashtun Leadership Trinity»-modellen viser til den vedvarende innflytelsen til det religiøse, stamme, og administrative lederskapet. Ved å analysere overlappingen mellom Pashtunwali og ortodoks lære viser avhandlingen hvordan autoriteter legitimerer og kontinuerlig gjenskaper deres maktposisjoner. Produksjonen av akademisk litteratur vil fortsette i stor grad så lenge nord-vest Pakistan er av interesse for internasjonale organisasjoner og myndigheter. Denne avhandlingen konkluderer at forskning på overlappende faktorer er nødvendig for å forstå hva som påvirker endring i likestilling og fredsprosesser i nord-vest Pakistan. Selv om eldre forskning har vist tendenser til uaktsom reduksjon i beskrivelser, viser nyere forskning at trenden i akademisk litteratur går mot fokusering på overlappende faktorer. This thesis compiles and analyses academic research on the developments in power and gender in the Pashtun regions of North-West Pakistan. The focus of this study is on the discursive developments from the 1960s until 2020. This thesis takes inspiration from Kocku von Stuckrad’s discourse-historical analysis as a research perspective, as well as traditional, conceptual, and scoping literature reviews. The study applies these perspectives by organising the research chronologically, applying historical context, and critically exploring trends in the discourse. The thesis aims to identify the most dominant focus of a given research period, and to discuss how the research has been influenced by the reproduction of stereotypes, colonial legacy, as well as western media and political discourse. The analysis identifies four main topics of discussion in the academic material: Pashtun social structure, gender, the “war on terror”, and Islamic doctrine. In the latest decade, the discursive developments trend towards introspection and focusing on intersectional realities when approaching questions on Pashtuns in North-West Pakistan. To highlight some of the intersecting factors which future research should build upon, the thesis focuses on two areas of study. The analysis of previous models of power allows the thesis to build on earlier research and construct a model of Pashtun power distribution. The “Pashtun Leadership Trinity”-model highlights the continued influence of tribal, religious, and administrative leadership. By analysing the intersection between Pashtunwali and orthodox Islam the thesis shows how those with authority legitimise and reproduce their power. As North-West Pakistan continues to keep the attention of international interests, the production of academic literature will continue to flourish. The thesis concludes that the study of intersecting influences is vital to understand the factors which continue to prohibit lasting advancement in gender parity and peace in North-West Pakistan. Although previous research has been prone to negligent descriptive reduction, new academic production is trending towards the study of intersecting realities.

Denne avhandlingen er en diskursanalyse av Visjon Norge, en kristen TV-kanal som hovedsakelig finansieres gjennom økonomiske bidrag fra seere. I 2016 kunne NRK avsløre at Visjon Norge fikk inn over 1 milliard kroner, som for det meste besto av gaveinntekter. Oppfordringen til økonomiske bidrag begrunnes med argumenter utover finansieringen av deres TV-sendinger. Her bruker jeg diskursanalyse for å kartlegge legitimeringsteknikkene for Visjon Norges giverpraksis. Jeg identifiserer retoriske trekk som viser en diskurs drevet av økonomiske motiver, en diskurs som har til hensikt å komme Visjon Norge til gode gjennom giverpraksisen. Gjennom analysen avdekker jeg to grunnleggende egenskaper med den hensikt. For at seere skal følge oppfordringen til giverpraksis, fordrer dette tillit mellom giver og mottaker. Tilliten Visjon Norge oppnår er et resultat av det diskursive rammeverket som slår ring omkring deres fellesskap. På denne måten skaper Visjon Norge en egen sosial gruppe, som tilbyr medlemmer gruppetilhørighet. I den forbindelse setter Visjon Norge føringer for hva som skal til for å høre til i denne gruppen. For medlemskap i deres innerste sirkel i felleskapet «Visjon Norge-familien», er deltagelse i giverpraksisen et kriterium. Videre ser jeg på Visjon Norges konfliktpreget diskurs som brukes i kulturkrig, en retorikk rettet mot negative og fiendtlige utgrupper. Effekten av denne retorikken forsterker tilhørigheten og fellesskapsfølelsen for deres egen sosiale gruppe. Gjennom avhandlingens to siste analysekapitler avdekker jeg løfter og forventninger Visjon Norge knytter til giverpraksisen. Diskursen som skaper disse forventningene har to uttrykksformer. Her skiller jeg mellom forventningen knyttet til deltagelse i giverpraksisen, samt de forventningene forbundet med en unnlatelse av dette. Forskjellen utspiller seg i to diskurser, hvor jeg anser den førstnevnte som salgsdiskurs, mens forventingene knyttet til en unnlatelse av giverpraksisen utrykkes gjennom skremselsretorikk. Avhandlingens analyse lar seg derfor dele inn i to deler. Del 1 tar for seg diskursens identitetskonstruksjoner, mens del 2 ser på spesifikke utfall knyttet til giverpraksisen. This master thesis is a discourse analysis of Visjon Norge, a Christian television channel that is mostly financed by donations from their viewers. In 2016 NRK revealed in a documentary that Visjon Norge received 1 billion kroners, which in most part came from donations. Their donation encouragement is being justified by arguments that goes beyond the mere financing of the TV broadcasting itself. In this thesis I apply discourse analysis to map out the legitimization techniques used by Visjon Norges’ donation practice. In my thesis I aim to identify rhetorical tendencies showing a discourse driven by financial motives, a discourse aiming to benefit Visjon Norge through a donation practice. The analysis identifies two main attributes pertaining to this purpose. For the viewers to follow up on the donation encouragement there has to be some form of trust between the donator and the receiver. This trust results from the discursive structure meant to establish a social group affiliation, in which Visjon Norge sets the boundaries for who gets to be in or outside of this community. The donation practice is the central criteria. Then I take a closer look at Visjon Norges’ conflict centered discourse used in culture war. This is a rhetoric aimed at critical and hostile outgroups. The effect of this rhetoric is an enhancement of the sense of affiliation to their own social group. Throughout the last two chapters of this thesis I show the promises and expectations Visjon Norge attaches to the donation practice. The discourse that establishes these expectations have two forms of expression. I distinguish between one pertaining to the participation in the donation practice, and one to the expectation of the consequences of omitting this practice. The distinction is shown in two discourses: one I regard as a sales discourse, and one of scaremongering rhetoric. The analysis of this thesis can therefore be divided into two parts: part one deals with the identity constructions of the discourse, and part two examines the specific outcomes of the donation practice.

This chapter will explore the sociology of conspiracy theory in areas of the contemporary cultic milieu, identifying rational social reasons for allegiance to a particular theory as often being more compelling for individuals than the apparent ‘empirical’ truth or falsity of the theory itself.

The decline of traditional religion in the West has been matched by a rise in the visibility of conspiracy theories. Are conspiracy theories therefore a replacement for religious belief in an increasingly secular society? Conspiracy theories seem to fulfil some of the psychological needs addressed by religion, such as imposing a sense of order and agency upon the world, and the two seem to share some of the same psychological predispositions. Many conspiracy beliefs have parallels in content and structure to religious beliefs: some propose an Edenic existence that was corrupted by a conspiracy, while others anticipate an apocalypse that will be either brought about or welcomed by a conspiracy. In this chapter, we take a psychological perspective on the parallels between religion and conspiracy theory, and discussing how the two types of belief systems complement and contradict one another.

This thesis examines the influence of religion on the production and reception of popular video games, using the first five major installments of the Assassin’s Creed video game series as examples. Utilizing a documentary style methodology applying both game-immanent and actor-centered approaches, I describe and analyze the series’ gamevironment, an analytical concept created by Radde-Antweiler, Waltmathe and Zeiler (2014). This comprises two levels: (1) the technical environment of video games and gamers, and (2) the cultural environment of video games and gaming. I discuss how material religion is portrayed and criticized in the Desmond-saga, and how the producers draw upon a culture of conspiracy to create exciting and entertaining products. I argue that profit is more important than artistic freedom for a majority of game developers, and that popular video games therefore are cultural artefacts reflecting the views and ideas of a hypothetical gamer culture. This leads to the conclusion that popular video games reflect what gamers want. Taking advantage of cultural theorist Stuart Hall’s encoding/decoding model, I declare that gamers are not passive, but active consumers. I provide proof of this by exploring different interpretations of the Desmond-saga in gamers’ comments on the Internet. Whereas most gamers operate within the dominant code, some take negotiated or even oppositional positions. Presenting the views of a minority of gamers, I argue that video game content can be taken very seriously by some consumers, constructing fiction-inspired or fiction-integrating lived religions.

This master thesis addresses the US authorities’ conflict with the Branch Davidians from the start of the investigation to the ending of the siege. The thesis is splitt into two main parts. The first concerns the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) investigation of the Branch Davidians from May 1992 to the raid of the movement's property, Mount Carmel, February 28, 1993. This section takes a deep dive into the government's own reports and compares it with the academic research literature. The main focus is on what influenced the investigation, preferably stigmatization of marginal religious movements, the media, and the use of experts. There was an ongoing problem in ATF's investigation that they stigmatized Branch Davidians by referring to them as a "cult." The use of that word resulted in a negative attitude towards the movement that would not have existed if the ATF had referred them as a congregation. This point was reinforced by the media. With anticult activists and former members in the lead, they helped to mark Branch Davidians as something exclusively negative and dangerous. ATF was based largely on the same sources as the media. This meant that the investigation was not as objective as it should have been. The objectivity issue is particularly important given that ATF used the same experts as the media. The second part addresses the FBI's Siege of Mount Carmel after taking over the responsibility from ATF from March 1 to April 19, 1993. In this section, I have taken note of how the FBI used the expertise of specialists to try and get a peaceful solution to the situation. One of the biggest problems of the FBI was that they characterized the siege as a hostage situation where Koresh holds the Branch Davidians as hostages. This meant that the FBI focused largely on invoking experts in behavioral science with knowledge of «common criminals». The FBI’s experts can in part be distinguished between experts on behavioral science and experts on religion. The FBI relied mainly on the work of the behavioral experts. Even though their analysis focused on Koresh as a criminal and not a religious leader, they still came up with multiple suggestions for the FBI’s negotiation department. However, much of these advise were ignored by the FBI. The experts on religion were opposed by both behavioral experts and the negotiating department. The negotiating department rejected the faith of Branch Davidians as «bible babble». Religion was the lifeblood of the Branch Davidians, and Koresh was their prophet. Because the FBI did not acknowledge this, they effectively rejected the opportunity for a successful negotiation. In conclusion, I have looked at how the siege of Mount Carmel affected the community and the actions of the authorities after the siege. Special emphasis is placed on how the siege of Mount Carmel changed the social debate and how the government changed the training of federal agents. The assignment is concluded with a brief account of the government's siege of Montana Freemen. This siege is known as the government's rehabilitation after Waco. I explain how the authorities had learned from Waco and thus relate to the Freemen in a completely different way, resulting in a peaceful ending.

This thesis is a qualitative study based on Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) of a Norwegian islamophobic website, document.no. The focus of the study is on the use of conspiracy theory in islamophobic rhetorics, with the following research questions: What role does the conspiracy theory of Eurabia play in the islamophobic discourse on document.no? How are islam and muslims incorporated into the political section of this discourse? And how are terrorism-related events interpreted into a conspiracy-theoretical system? The study shows that the Eurabia theory plays a central part in the islamophobic discourse on document.no, despite rarely being explicitly mentioned. The main points of the Eurabia theory, such as mass immigration of muslims, collaborators within politics and journalism along with the use of misinformation, dominate the islamophobic discourse. Terrorism is interpreted as a part of the process of islamification, and European-wide self-destructive politics are labelled the cause. Islam and muslims – the external enemy – are understood as the symptom of an unsuccessful policy – the internal enemy. The policy, often referred to as multicultural, has become dominant due to the stigmatization of the knowledge and truth that document.no claims to have uncovered. In other words, there exists a network of conspirators who work together to keep the truth hidden. The conspiracy is characterized by scepticism of authorities and the perception of a controlled media.