Australia gets first Muslim female senator

By Muhammad Mussa

LONDON

Mehreen Faruqi has become Australia’s first female Muslim senator for the New South Wales region, replacing fellow Green Party Senator Lee Rhiannon.

The Australian senate appointed Faruqi on Wednesday to fill a vacant seat.

In an interview with the Guardian, Faruqi had called Senator Fraser Anning a “merchant of hate” who has “spat in the face of our successful multicultural society” when the Australian politician called for an immediate halt to Muslim immigration into Australia.

Faruqi also said Anning’s remarks had left millions of decent Australians feeling vulnerable and that such remarks a “desperate attempt to remain relevant and reignite a long gone racist policy”.

Anning, in a speech given on Tuesday, had called for a “final solution” to the immigration of Muslims into Australia. His remarks received broad condemnation from Australian MPs across the political spectrum.

“I am beyond mad. This kind of vile crap encourages and enables abuse of Muslims around Australia,” Faruqi said in response to Anning’s speech in a statement on Twitter.

Faruqi came to Australia from Pakistan in 1992 and later became a successful academic and engineer. She played an important role in helping to improve vital infrastructure projects across the country and held many leadership posts.

The newly-elected Green senator became the first Muslim women to enter an Australian parliament when she became a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council in 2013.

Ed Husic became the first Husic MP when he was voted into the House of Representatives in 2010.