In the wake of the foiled terrorist attack at a mosque outside Oslo on 10 August, and the widespread solidarity seen outside mosques around Norway on the morning of Eid, together with colleagues and friends Rojan Tordhol Ezzati and Henrik Syse, we reflect on the prospects for hope and for the endurance of social fabric. Although much remains for the courts to process, we know a lot. Facing terror: there is the possibility of hope, there is the need to confront hatred, and there is a call to decency as fellow humans – in high politics, as much as in everyday life, where small things matter. This blog post draws on our research about responses to the July 22 terror in 2011, and on migration research, at PRIO.