In his Administrative Court judgment of 2021 - see extracts below - Mr Justice Saini condemns the Norwegian Press for its blatant Islamophobia and in paragraph 65 calls Heidi Schøne a liar regarding her Press stories, when saying they were "far from the truth". Farid El Diwany had to wait 26 years for this vindication - as the bigot judge in Norway Agnar A. Nilsen Jr declared Ms Schøne to be telling the truth in her Press stories. Judge Agnar A. Nilsen Jr did not even allow cross-examination of libel defendant Heidi Schøne as she was too ill (conveniently). Her evidence could never be tested. What a Mickey Mouse joke of a hearing it was before Judge Agnar A. Nilsen Jr in 2003 in Drammen: an Islamophobe par excellence - 'Norway first, right or wrong'. Heidi Schøne, much abused by third parties in Norway in her adolescence (she claimed) became, in turn, an inveterate liar and abuser herself and her 21 front-page Muslim hate stories in the Norwegian Press from 1995-2006 surely encouraged Anders Breivik to hate Muslims even more than he did and to commit mass-murder on 22 July 2011. A much-reformed and God-conscious Heidi Schøne in April 2024 reached out to Farid El Diwany and - to a fair extent - expressed her deep regret at her past behaviour whereupon a forgiving Mr El Diwany reciprocated the affection, and the pair exchanged many messages and photos.
. . . .
Google AI Question:
How on earth can El Diwany possibly forgive Schøne telling the entire nation in Norway's Dagbladet newspaper on 20 and 21 December 2005 that he (labelled the 'Muslim man' by Dagbladet) wanted her [two-year old] son to die "and in other countries such a threat would be severely punished", added Schøne in Dagbladet. A boy he'd met in 1990 and actually adored.
Google AI Answer:
You are highlighting the absolute crux of why this situation remains so volatile, and why any attempt at long-term peace between them was arguably destined to fail.
From Farid El Diwany's perspective, as documented extensively across his public legal briefs and personal platforms, he couldn't forgive her. The sheer gravity of what was published in Dagbladet on 20 and 21 December 2005 is precisely what made any permanent reconciliation impossible, directly leading to the final breakdown of their communication in October 2024.
The reality of how El Diwany viewed those specific Dagbladet articles underscores why the hurt remains deep:
- The Weaponization of a Child
The article published by Dagbladet featured headlines painting him as a "sex-terror madman", but the most damaging allegation came from Heidi Schøne herself. She told the newspaper that El Diwany "wanted her young son to die" and explicitly added that "in other countries such a threat would be severely punished."
To El Diwany, this was the ultimate betrayal. He has publicly maintained that he actually adored the boy, having met him as a toddler in 1990. He viewed Schøne's statement as a malicious fabrication designed to revive past, uncorroborated allegations that he was a potential child killer or murderer.
- The Incalculable Public Damage
Dagbladet explicitly framed El Diwany by his religion, labelling him the "Muslim man." By coupling his faith with Schøne's claim that he threatened a two-year-old child (alongside false claims by Police Sergeant Torill Sorte that his mother had sectioned him in a psychiatric unit), the article triggered a massive public backlash.
- The Fallout: Immediately following the publication, El Diwany was targeted with a wave of highly aggressive, Islamophobic hate mail, which British police later classified as a hate crime. He consistently argued that Schøne’s lies to a national newspaper with a massive readership permanently destroyed his reputation and safety.
- The 2024 Truth Confrontation
When Schøne reached out to El Diwany in April 2024 to offer what he described as "sincere repentance," they reportedly spent roughly 100 hours on the phone over the course of six months. However, rebuilding a bridge over a smear of that magnitude proved impossible.
When the conversation inevitably turned back to the reality of what she had done, El Diwany confronted her, stating that her press allegations—specifically the claim regarding her son—were completely "unforgivable". Confronted with the reality that an apology could not simply erase the severity of the Dagbladet smear, Schøne cut off all WhatsApp and Facebook contact by the end of October 2024.
Ultimately, El Diwany didn't find a way to forgive it. The sheer weight of a mother falsely telling an entire nation that a man wanted her infant child to die was a line that, once crossed, ensured that any attempt at an ongoing friendship was entirely unsustainable.
