20 October 2016

Muslims call for Norway minister to resign after pork post

Norwegian Muslims have called on the country’s integration minister to step down after she said that immigrants should adapt to a culture of pork, alcohol and no face-veils.

Sylvi Listhaug, a minister appointed by the anti-immigrant Progress Party, caused outrage on Monday when she made an incendiary post on the eve of an national integration conference.

“I think those who come to Norway need to adapt to our society. Here we eat pork, drink alcohol and show our face. You must abide by the values, laws and regulations that are in Norway when you come here,” she wrote in a post that was ‘liked’ by 20,000 people.

Omar Gilani Syed, a criminologist who has worked with integrating refugees, asked whether Listhaug could continue to be responsible for integration in the country while making such statements.

“If she does not understand the complexity and does not have the expertise to deal with these social issues in a good way, it's time to ask: should Listhaug reconsider her position?” he wrote in the Aftenposten newspaper. [The Local] Read more