In what can be described as a fitting response to Anders Breivik’s brutal assault on Norwegian multiculturalism, Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg appointed a 29-year-old Muslim woman of Pakistani origin the new Culture Minister. Hadia Tajik is the first Muslim and youngest Minister ever in Norwegian political history. Ms. Tajik, who has degrees in law and journalism and has been a career politician in Norway’s Labour Party, was appointed in a Cabinet reshuffle.
‘Courageous move’“This is a very courageous move on the part of the Prime Minister. She is an extremely intelligent person and has been an activist all her life. I would describe this as an important decision for Norway that will go a long way to prove that we are a truly multicultural society,” Dag Herbjornsrud, editor of the influential paper Ny Tid told The Hindu in a telephone conversation. “It was important that Norway proved this to the world, but it’s even more important that we proved this to ourselves.”
