Islamic Council Norway hires woman in niqab as communications officer

From the Norwegian edition of The Local

Norwegian Muslim umbrella organisation Islamic Council Norway has been criticised for hiring a woman who wears the full face-covering niqab as a communications officer. The appointment of 32-year-old Leyla Hasic as an administrative consultant by Islamic Council Norway (Islamsk Råd Norge, IRN) comes soon after the Ministry of Culture (Kulturdepartementet) granted almost half a million kroner ($58 million) to help the organisation with initiatives aimed at improving dialogue between Muslim communities and the rest of society, reports news media Klassekampen.

Minister for Culture Linda Hofsted Helleland called the move “extremely ill-advised” and members of other parties have also voiced their concern about the appointment. Minister for Culture Helleland wrote in a Facebook post that the appointment by the council would “create distance and less understanding. . . But here it is important to take a stand!,”

Norway’s government showed its opposition to the niqab last autumn when a majority of parties on both sides of parliament supported a ban on the face-covering garment in schools.A ban is likely to be in place later this year.

Prime Minister Erna Solberg has also showed her personal disapproval. In October 2016 the PM said that she would not employ anyone wearing the niqab. “I believe we must be able to see each other’s faces in the workplace,” Solberg told NRK at the time.