Hours after Ed Husic became Australia’s first ever Muslim minister, he was flooded with online racial abuse for taking oath of office on the Qur’ān. Husic, 43, was appointed parliamentary secretary to prime minister Kevin Rudd and parliamentary secretary for broadband on 1 July. Husic, son of Bosnian migrants, was the first MP to be sworn in to federal parliament with his hand on the Qur’ān. Husic told media on 2 July that he had made a “straightforward decision as someone of the Muslim faith” to take the oath on the Qur’ān. “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 official oath-taking ceremony on 1 July, 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 Qur’ān. 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”.