This essay is a discussion analysis of the public debate regarding the Tiwaz rune and the Helm of Awe through the lens of various groups wanting to interpret the symbols differently through their historical usage. Through analyzing how different people argue for the legitimacy of their interpretation through the symbols’ historical usage they were separated into three groups, the critical, the religious and the cultural, all who want their interpretation to be the prevailing one. The critical group argues that the symbols should be seen as Nazi symbols because of how relatively recent the deeds of the Nazis are to today, and they are used as the means to attack modern Nazi groups through this connection. The religious group instead speak for a more ancient Norse interpretation, they argue that it is media itself that makes these symbols into Nazi symbols not the Nazis and that this interpretation is based on historical ignorance. The cultural group uses the symbols because of their connection to the Norse culture and because of an imagined Viking warrior ideal that will motivate in the modern political struggle. In the essay it is made clear by all groups that it is media that has the power in the negotiation regarding the meaning of these symbols today. But they have entirely abandoned them to groups like the Nordic Resistance Movement and The Swedish Party to make their own.

The purpose of this critical discourse analysis study is to analyse Swedish and international legislation to determine if it is possible to restrict the use of religious symbols among extreme right movements. To contextualise the analysis material it is prudent to describe the rise and development of Nordic neo-paganism and its connections to extreme right movements. Since the runes in this study share some history with the swastika in Nazi Germany some context about the history of this symbol is also provided. I have divided the analysis into two sections: The first part evaluates legislation and includes the Swedish contitutional law (RF), the European convention on human rights (ECHR) as well as the Swedish discrimination law. The analysis also includes legislative information from the Swedish government agencies called the Chancellor of Justice and the Swedish Agency for Support to Faith Communities. The second part of the analysis focuses on two political extreme right parties called The Nordic resistance movement (NRM) and the Swedish party (SP) as well as their symbols, the tyr rune and the helmet of terror. The result of the analysis shows that it is not possible to limit the religious legislations’ inner core, which stipulates the rights of belief and freedom from it. It is however possible to make limitations in the legislations’ outer core which is mainly comprised of the freedom of speech dimension of the religious freedom.