When Australia’s first Muslim minister strode up to be sworn in at Government House, he held in his hand an object never seen at such a ceremony.
Matching his tie, new industry minister Ed Husic placed a bright pink Koran on the table and placed his right hand on it to swear his oath.
The surprisingly coloured holy book was steeped in symbolism, and not just as a demonstration of parliament’s improving diversity.
The pink Koran was provided to Mr Husic by longtime southwest Sydney community worker Maha Abdo, who heard he was looking for a book to take his oath with.
Ed Husic is sworn in as Minister for Industry while holding a bright pink Koran, which is the first time the Islamic holy book has been used to swear in an Australian federal cabinet member
Despite not knowing him well, she sent the book with a hand-written note: ‘I didn’t imagine this happening in my lifetime’.
Ms Abdo, chief executive of the Muslim Women Association, said she was given the book by young schoolgirls ahead of the holy fasting month of Ramadan.
She had never seen pink a Qbefore but every one of the young girls had one.
Ms Abdo thought the colour would be symbolic of a new era of inclusivity in Australian politics, which prompted her to send it to Mr Husic.
‘Pink, what does it stand for? There’s so much in it. I didn’t realise it was to be gifted to this amazing person who was sworn into parliament,’ she told the Sydney Morning Herald.
‘For me, it is very much about feminity, purity… it is also hope in the fact that it reminds me, as well, when the sun sets, the sky goes that pinky colour.
‘The sun has set, and now it’s about to rise.’
Maha Abdo, who is long-time community leader in western Sydney, provided the pink Koran used by Mr Husic and said it was gift from some young girls
The pink Koran was sent by Ms Adbo to Mr Husic for the swearing ceremony with a hand-written note that read: ‘I didn’t imagine this happening in my lifetime’
Mr Husic, 52, said his heart was ‘bursting with pride’ when he passed the Koran to Dr Aly, who is also a trailblazer being the first Muslim woman to enter a federal ministry.
‘We’re all just trying to make a little bit better for the ones that come after us,’ he said.
In 2013, Mr Husic, who is the son of Bosnian migrants, held a Koran that belonged to his father while he was sworn in to be parliamentary secretary for broadband to then-prime minister Kevin Rudd.
This prompted a backlash to his Facebook page with some accusing him of not being loyal to Australia and being part of plot to impose Sharia law.
Mr Husic said the attacks were a ‘a natural part of democracy’ but also labelled them ‘harsh words out of dark corners’.
‘I think things have changed quite a bit and the country is a lot more understanding and accepting,’ he said on Wednesday.
Anne Aly (left) also used the pink Koran as Governor-General David Hurley swore her in as Minister for Youth and Early Childhood Education making her the first Muslim woman minister
He believed his appointment would send a ‘signal to the broader community that people from different backgrounds, different faiths can have a role to play in building a better country’.
However, he noted there were still many Muslim Australians who copped hate speech and endured prejudice.
The Koran did double duty because after Mr Husic was sworn he passed it to Dr Aly, who was the first Muslim woman elected to federal parliament in 2016.
The Western Australian MP used it take oath to become Minister for Youth and Early Childhood Education as part of Anthony Albanese’s ministry.
Dr Aly, 55, told the ABC she thought of her Egyptian father while travelling to the swearing in ceremony.
Her parents immigrated from Egypt to Australia in 1969 when Dr Aly was two.
‘I kind of had a conversation in my head with my dad because baba passed away in 2015, one year before I was sworn in as the member for Cowan,’ she said.
‘For any young girl, who like me, had the dark hair, dark eyes, dark skin and the different cultural background and wasn’t quite sure if there was a place for her in this country, I hope this sends out a message to them that there is a place for you.
Tony Burke used Twitter to show off the inside of the family Bible he used to be sworn in as Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations and Minister for the Arts
Mr Burke said his great grandfather had brought the Bible to Australia on 28 March, 1880 in the wake of the Great Irish Potato Famine
‘You can participate fully in the political, social and economic life of Australia in whichever way that you want.’
Dr Aly, who lectured in counter-terrorism and security at Perth’s Edith Cowan University before entering parliament, said she believed Australian attitudes to Muslims had become more welcoming.
The pink Koran was not the only holy book to stand out during the swearing in ceremony, where ministers can bring their own scriptures to take their oath with.
New Workplace Relations and Arts Minister Tony Burke lugged in a huge Bible under his arm, which appeared to amuse the prime minister’s girlfriend Jodie Haydon.
Mr Burke later explained he Bible was his great-grandfather’s and was passed down through his family as an heirloom.
‘Dad’s grandfather came to Tumut [NSW] from Ireland after the famine and bought it on March 28, 1880,’ he wrote on Twitter.
An inscription inside includes the name of his ancestor Michael Bourke and the date it was bought.
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