ABSTRACT
Europe has recently experienced a resurgence of honor as a topical theme in various realms of social life. It is invoked in court hearings; it is a recurrent theme in gang fights; and it is an integral part of identity formation in certain milieus. Commenting on violent gang fights in Oslo recently, a young man of Pakistani descent said, 'you cannot utter a critical remark to a Pakistani here without him feeling his honor threatened'. Such an obsession with honor runs counter to most Europeans' conception of modern living. Honor and revenge are out of place in modem European welfare states.
