The recent death of Egzon Avdyli, a Norwegian of Albanian descent who was killed fighting alongside the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in Syria, was celebrated by Norwegian Islamists as a martyrdom. Mehtab Afsar, Secretary General of the Islamic Council of Norway (IRN), who said he had had talks with Avdyli, advocated talking with extremists rather than denouncing them. Saudi Arabia accused Norway of failing to sufficiently protect its Muslim minority, and said criticizing religions or their prophets should be illegal.
