CANBERRA: Ed Husic, who became Australia’s first ever Muslim minister on Monday, has been flooded with online racial abuse for taking oath of office on the Quran.
The 43-year-old Husic was appointed as parliamentary secretary to Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and parliamentary secretary for broadband on Monday.
Husic, son of Bosnian migrants, was the first MP to be sworn in to federal parliament with his hand on the Quran.
He had made a “straightforward decision as someone of the Muslim faith” to take the oath on the Quran, Husic told media on Tuesday.
“I couldn’t take my oath on a Bible and I didn’t want to affirm. I am who I am and I just made a straightforward decision,” he said.
At the Monday’s official oath-taking ceremony, Australia’s Governor-General Quentin Bryce said, “it was a great day for multiculturalism and everything it stands for.”
However, Husic’s Facebook page was soon flooded with comments saying it was “disgusting” and “un-Australian” for him to use the Quran.
Husic said the attacks on his social media site were just “a natural part of democracy” and that “it’s important that we not necessarily jump because of harsh words out of dark corners”.
