Naser Khader

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Naser Khader.

Naser Khader (Arabic: ناصر خاضر‎) (born July 1, 1963 in Damascus, Syria) is a member of the Parliament of Denmark for Radikale Venstre. A leading proponent of peaceful co-existence of democracy and Islam, he established a new movement Moderate Muslims (later renamed to Democratic Muslims) when the cartoon war started.

[edit] Biography

Naser Khader is a son of a Palestinian father and a Syrian mother. He was raised in a small rural town outside Damascus in a traditional Syrian way. Being an immigrant, his father had difficulties getting a good job in Syria, and even though they lived in the village of his wife, she was very much referred to as "the one who married a stranger".

Naser Khader was named after Egyptian president Nasser, but the name lost an S in transliteration to the Latin alphabet when the father immigrated to Europe in the 1960s when European countries advertised for workers. Naser himself did not join his father until 1974, when he moved from a rural village in Syria to an apartment in central Copenhagen, Denmark.

[edit] Opinions

Naser explains in his biography, that many immigrants from Arabic countries have significant difficulties adapting to European life, because it isn't based on Muslim culture, and especially because those immigrants often don't know the background of their own culture. He finds it helpful for integration of children into society that children learn about their own culture, learn their home country's language, and accept that integration does not mean that you have to be exactly like a native.

Also, some things are so deeply ingrained in the minds of the immigrants that they cannot unlearn them. He gives an example: During the Black Death in Europe, rats were believed to carry the illness. Today, many Europeans would vomit if they were told that they had eaten rat meat. Naser feels the same way about pork. There may be no rational reason for it, we just have to accept it.

He states that many Muslim immigrants dream of a world like the one he lived in during his childhood village, but that life is not possible any more–not in a European country and not in their home country. Both worlds have changed a lot, and we have to adapt. He compares these dreams with the dreams of the Danes when watching Morten Korch movies, which are movies with stories from a rural and romantic Denmark that doesn't exist any more.

He has stated, in response to the Afghan trial of a convert to Christianity, that "If necessary, Danish troops should liberate Abdur Rahman and Denmark should offer him asylum.... This matter underlines that sharia (Islamic law) must be fought wherever it exists." [1]

[edit] A confession to democracy without compromise

Khader pleads for an uncompromising confession to democracy, which forms the basis of the movement Democratic Muslims in Denmark. The following "ten democratic commandments", which he proclaimed on the occasion of a speech in 2002 about the Danish Constitution, are to be found on his homepage.

[edit] The ten commandments of Democracy

1. We must all separate politics and religion, and we must never place religion above the laws of democracy.
2. We must all respect that all people have equal rights regardless of sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation or religious beliefs.
3. No person must ever incite to hatred, and we must never allow hatred to enter our hearts.
4. No person must ever use or encourage violence — no matter how frustrated or wronged we feel, or how just our cause.
5. We must all make use of dialogue — always.
6. We must all show respect for the freedom of expression, also of those with whom we disagree the most.
7. No person can claim for themselves or assign to others a place apart, neither as superior persons, as inferior persons or as eternal victims.
8. We must all treat other people’s national and religious symbols as we wish them to treat ours — flag-burning and graffiti on churches, mosques and synagogues are insults that hinder dialogue and increase the repression of the other party.
9. We must all mind our manners in public. Public space is not a stage on which to vent one's aggressions or to spread fear and hate, but should be a forum for visions and arguments, where the best must win support.
10. We must all stand up for our opponent if he or she is subjected to spiteful treatment.

[edit] Death threat

When it was reported that Ahmed Akkari, spokesman for the group of Danish Imams that toured the Middle East seeking support regarding the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy, said "...If Khader becomes minister of integration, shouldn't someone dispatch two guys to blow up him and his ministry?...".Vid. (Fr.) Naser Khader stated that he had to consider whether or not to continue with politics. Later, on April 1 2006, Khader indicated that he would return to politics.

[edit] Sources

• Khader, Naser (2000). Khader.dk Aschehoug, Denmark. ISBN 87-11-11464-9 (biography).
• Khader, Naser (2001). Nasers brevkasse Gyldendal Uddannelse, Denmark. ISBN 87-00-49372-4 (Naser's mailbox).
• Khader, Naser (2003). Ære og skam Borgen, Denmark. ISBN 87-21-02298-4 (about the islamic family- and lifepattern in Denmark and the Middle East).
• Khader, Naser (2003). Modsætninger mødes Forum, Denmark. ISBN 87-553-3331-1 (discussions with the former Jewish rabbi Bent Melchior).
• Dalsbæk, Bente (2006): Med underkop - Livet med min muslimiske svigermor. Ekstra Bladets forlag, Denmark. ISBN 87-7731-276-7 (about Khaders mother Sada, and the arabic-danish family life under the Muhammad cartoons controversy)

[edit] External links

• Khader's website
• Website in English