Bassam Hussein, a professor at NTNU, played a central role when the Palestine Committee (Palestinakomiteen) organised a tribute to the now deceased terrorist Yahya Sinwar in central Trondheim at the end of last January. Sinwar is regarded as the mastermind behind the terrorist attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, in which more than 1,200 people were killed. “Freedom of expression is strongly protected in Norway, and only the law sets the limits,” Rector Tor Grande tells Document when asked whether it is acceptable for employees to praise terrorists.
Paid tribute to Hamas leader Sinwar
It was on Saturday, 31 January, that the Palestine Committee Trøndelag (Palestinakomiteen Trøndelag) organised what amounted to an outright tribute to Yahya Sinwar. They carried placards bearing the image of the man widely regarded as the mastermind behind the largest terrorist attack against Jews since the Holocaust, and Professor Bassam Hussein is pictured holding a megaphone in photographs from the demonstration. On Facebook they wrote, among other things, that “Thank you for today’s powerful demonstration in support of the Palestinian resistance. We remember the many Palestinian resistance heroes and martyrs. Palestinian resistance is not terrorism.”
In other words, they maintain that the 7 October attack can be justified, and they regard those who carried it out as “resistance heroes” and “martyrs”.
Around 1,200 people were murdered in the terrorist attack in 2023, including 350 young people at the Nova music festival, and at least 240 were taken hostage by the terrorists. Along with numerous other atrocities.
Professor at the forefront of Gaza activism
Bassam Hussein, employed as a professor at NTNU, has been one of the leading figures behind Gaza activism in Trondheim and Trøndelag, including the encampment outside the Main Building at Gløshaugen.
“We shouted together. We screamed in anger and despair, we cried in helplessness. All we got in return were politicians eagerly defending Israel’s right to defend itself,” the committee writes in its report on the Sinwar tribute. Implicitly, they mean that Israel does NOT have the right to defend itself against terrorism.
And further:
“What is happening in Palestine is colonisation. The Palestinian people therefore have the right to resist by all means in order to liberate their land from the river to the sea.”
“From the river to the sea” signifies the complete eradication of the Jews’ only country, which is also symbolised by the Palestine Committee’s logo, both locally and nationally.
The Gaza activists actually encountered opposition from within their own ranks over the Facebook post they published. We have reported on this previously. They may also have faced criticism from elsewhere, because they have now removed the image containing close-up photographs of the Sinwar placards used during the demonstration. However, we have retained a copy of the original post and the image they removed.
NTNU Professor Bassam Hussein, with a megaphone on the left of the image, during the tribute to Sinwar and Hamas terrorism in Trondheim on 31 January 2026. Photo: Palestine Committee Trøndelag on Facebook.
Professor from Gaza
Bassam Hussein is said to be from Gaza. According to information from NTNU, Hussein has held academic positions at NTNU since 2001. Before that he was, among other things, a doctoral research fellow at NTNU. He became a professor in 2023. We do not know how he came to Norway, whether as an asylum seeker or whether he was a student who never returned home.
“Gaza is my compass. I choose my friends and enemies based on their views on Palestine,” he told Adresseavisen in 2024. He added that people are free to hold different opinions, but no one can be his friend unless they share his views on Palestine.
“We are an entire nation deprived of the right to have memories,” he said. In other words, he does not regard Norway and the Norwegian people as his nation.
Nor was this the first time this year that he appeared to praise Hamas and its activities. “Glory to the Palestinian Resistance. The rest: fuxxxx off.” He posted this under his alias Abu Marwan on Facebook on 18 May 2024.
Bassam Hussein previously had a Facebook page under the name Abu Marwan. His profile picture depicted what appeared to be a Hamas activist, or terrorist, against a background in which Israel had been erased. He also expressed scepticism towards Norway and the West. Screenshots from 2024. The profile now appears to have been deleted.
Acceptable to praise terrorists?
It may seem somewhat remarkable that a professor at a Norwegian university praises terrorist attacks and those responsible for massacres. Countless media outlets have identified Sinwar as the mastermind behind the 7 October terrorist attack, including Le Monde and The Telegraph, to mention just two examples. We therefore asked NTNU Rector Tor Grande whether the university leadership considers it acceptable for an NTNU professor, namely Bassam Hussein, to praise one of the world’s most notorious terrorists.
We also asked whether it is acceptable for an NTNU professor to participate in an action intended to obstruct freedom of assembly and freedom of expression, which appears to be contrary to the Constitution (Grunnloven). This is because Bassam Hussein also took part when the LO trade union federation and the local Labour Party attempted to prevent the inaugural meeting of Bevar Norge on 4 February, something Document reported here.
We also asked whether there would be consequences if NTNU does not consider it acceptable to praise terrorists, nor acceptable to contribute to attempts to prevent others from exercising their freedom of assembly and freedom of expression.
Had to send a reminder
A week passed without a reply, but after a reminder we received a very brief response to our questions, which in full read:
Freedom of expression is strongly protected in Norway, and only the law sets the limits. Whether a statement violates the law is a matter for the police or the courts, Rector Tor Grande replied via his adviser Grete Wolden in the Rector’s Office.
NTNU tried to dismiss Eikrem twice
The situation was rather different when NTNU wanted to get rid of Øyvind Eikrem, former Associate Professor of Psychology at the Department of Social Work at NTNU, who was dismissed because he may have written something racist using an anonymous Facebook profile. This was never proven.
Eikrem had also been reprimanded by the department in 2018 because he had agreed to be interviewed in his academic capacity by Resett.
NTNU attempted to dismiss Eikrem twice, largely because it suspected he might have made racist statements. The matter ultimately ended in a settlement.
“In his new position he received an almost NOK 250,000 salary increase, bringing his annual salary to NOK 977,600. This makes him the highest-paid postdoctoral researcher at the university. Eikrem also received a severance package equivalent to one year’s salary. The settlement with the associate professor will cost the university nearly NOK 5 million over five years,” NRK wrote in 2021.
NTNU does not appear to be equally eager to intervene when the speech in question consists of the outright glorification of terrorism and terrorists.