When reports of the attacks first broke, many initially concluded they were the work of Islamists.
The revelation that they were carried out by a local has forced Norway to look inwards, and tackle the anti-immigration sentiment that is part of mainstream thinking across Europe.
Across europe parties on the far right are gaining real traction, spreading anti-immigration sentiment, backing laws that ban the building of minarets and the wearing of muslim veils.
Breivik himself dabbled in politics, as a youth member of Norway's opposition, and later as a member of the right wing Progress Party.
But his vision soon expanded to become almost apocalyptic, far beyond the realm of political discourse, and he left all that behind.
Al Jazeera's Jonah Hull reports from Oslo, Norway.
