Naser Khader

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Naser Khader
Naser Khader-2011-09-09.jpg
Member of the Folketing
Incumbent
Assumed office
18 June 2015
ConstituencyZealand (from 2019)
East Jutland (2015—2019)
In office
20 November 2001 – 15 September 2011
ConstituencyCopenhagen (2007—2011)
Østre (2001—2007)
Leader of Liberal Alliance
Incumbent
Assumed office
7 May 2007
Succeeded byAnders Samuelsen
Personal details
Born (1963-07-01) 1 July 1963 (age 58)
Damascus, Syria
NationalityDanish
Political partyIndependent
Other political
affiliations
Conservative People's Party
Social Liberal Party
New Alliance
Domestic partnerBente Dalsbæk (until 2010)
Children2
OccupationSenior Fellow of Hudson Institute
Middle East expert and TV commentator
Radio host
ProfessionCand.polit.
Signature
WebsiteKhader.dk

Naser Khader (Arabic: ناصر خضر‎  Levantine pronunciation: [ˈnɑːsˤer xɑdˤer]; born 1 July 1963) is a Syrian-Danish politician who is a member of the Folketing as an independent politician. Until 2021 he was a member of the Conservative People's Party. In August 2021 Khader left the party after allegations of being responsible for sexual harassment.[1] He was first elected to Parliament representing the Danish Social Liberal Party in 2001. In 2007 he left this party to found New Alliance (later Liberal Alliance), whom he represented from 2007 until 5 January 2009. A leading proponent of peaceful co-existence of democracy and Islam, he established a new movement, Moderate Muslims (later renamed Democratic Muslims), when the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy began.

In the national elections on 13 November 2007, Naser Khader's New Alliance party won five parliamentary seats. After a tumultuous year in which two MPs left the party, one was excluded from the parliamentary group, and the party was renamed to Liberal Alliance, Naser Khader too left the party. Following a short period as an Independent Member of the Danish Parliament, Naser Khader joined the Conservative People's Party on 17 March 2009. Khader lost his seat in the 2011 Danish parliamentary election,[2] but regained it in the 2015 election.[3]

Khader co-founded an association of opponents of Islamic supremacism and jihadism in 2008, with the aim to promote freedom of speech and inspire moderate Muslims worldwide.[4] Khader and the Conservative Party advocate a complete ban on the burqa as part of an integration initiative by the Conservatives' parliamentary group, describing it as "un-Danish" and "oppression of women".[5]

Background[]

Naser Khader is the son of a Palestinian father and a Syrian mother. He was raised in a small rural town outside Damascus in the traditional Syrian way. As a Palestinian refugee, his father had difficulties getting a good job in Syria, and although they lived in his wife’s village, she was often referred to as "The one who married a stranger".

Naser Khader was named after Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser. Khader's father emigrated to Europe in the 1960s – a period when European countries had begun to solicit immigration by foreign workers. Naser himself did not join his father until 1974, when he moved from his village in Syria to a flat in central Copenhagen, Denmark. He graduated from the Rysensteen Gymnasium in 1983.

Political career[]

Jyllands-Posten[]

In 2006, he was awarded Jyllands-Posten's Freedom of Expression Award. As the newspaper had published cartoons of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, journalist Tim Jensen reported that "practicing Muslims" in Denmark developed negative and hostile perceptions of him.[6]

Ahmed Akkari, spokesman for the group of Danish imams that toured the Middle East seeking support during the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy, said the following about Khader:

”If Khader becomes Minister of Integration, it will be likely that someone will dispatch two guys to blow him and the Ministry up." Vid. (Fr.)

In light of Akkari’s threat, Khader stated that he had to consider whether or not to continue in politics. When Akkari was later confronted with his statement, he said that he was joking. Later, on 1 April 2006, Khader indicated that he would return to politics.

Network of journalists[]

Naser Khader is on good terms with a number of notable political commentators and journalists. He is on friendly terms with two of the former press secretaries of the Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen, as well as another former press secretary, Michael Ulveman.[7] In a documentary about the Muhammad cartoons crisis, Naser Khader is shown jogging with the political commentator Henrik Qvortrup, exclaiming, "I don't want to give that idiot any more screentime", referring to Ahmed Akkari

During the 2007 parliamentary election campaign, Qvortrup published a story in his tabloid magazine Se og Hør, accusing Khader of tax fraud on the basis of one paid anonymous source, and without any substantiated evidence to support the claim. Several anonymous workers were reported to having admitted to moonlighting at Khader's private home.

≈In reaction, Khader called Qvortrup a "swine", a common Danish insult similar to the word "jerk", and declined to comment on the story; shortly after, he expressed regret for the use of that word.[8] Khader claimed he had documents proving that everything was legitimate and threatened to sue the magazine for libel, which he later did. Khader won the case against Se og Hør in December 2012 and was thus completely exonerated of the allegations of fraud that may have cost him his parliamentary seat in 2007.[9] Qvortrup, however, maintains that the story was true.[10]

New political party[]

Previously a member of the Social Liberal Party, Khader withdrew from the Party on 7 May 2007 in order to create his own party, Ny Alliance, which about a year later regrouped to become Liberal Alliance.[11][12]

In the national election held on 13 November 2007, Naser Khader's Liberal Alliance party succeeded in winning five seats. On 5 January 2009 Khader himself left the party, retaining his seat in the Danish Parliament. He later joined the Conservative Party, but was not re-elected in the 2011 Danish general elections. He was reelected as a member of the Conservative Party on 18 June 2015 and is currently representing that party in Parliament.

Sexual assault allegations[]

In July 2021, five women came forward in an article published by DR alledging Khader of having sexual assaulted them on several occasions over the last two decades, including having attempted to force one of the women to have sexual intercourse with him. In the same article, Khader denies all allegations.[13] Following the allegations, Khader was expulsed from the Det Konservative Folkeparti in August 2021.[14]

Controversies[]

Plagiarism

In 2003 the Danish daily newspaper Politiken described how Nasher Khader had plagiarized a number of passages in his book 'Ære og Skam'. The passages in his book were copied from the Danish muslim writer, Aminah Tønnesen and the priest and dr.theol. Lissi Rasmussen.

Khader defended himself by claiming he made a mistake but he also felt the criticism was falderal. He told Politiken: I see that what I wrote is the exact same as she (Lissi Rasmussen) wrote. I don't know how it happened. I've talked to the people that helped me with the specific chapter and they can't explain it either. [1]

In 2017 Naser Khader was again accused of plagiarism when the Danish weekly newspaper Weekendavisen revealed that the book 'Hjertet Bløder', which Naser Khader co-wrote with journalist Stig Matthiesen, mainly consisted of:  Plagiarized material from books, articles and reference work like Wikipedia. None of which were referenced in the book. The director of publishing house Peoples Press, Jakob Kvist, said: It's a pure guilty plea. Vi are guilty of inadvertent intellectual property theft, and we are very sorry. I completely subdue to the documentation you have presented. We will retract the book immediately and burn all remaining copies of it. None of the writers would take responsibility, but Naser Khader defended himself by claiming: I had been interviewed 15-20 times for the book and then Stig Matthiesen would put the words to paper. Everytime we talked about a subject, I send him some litterature and 2-3 months later I read the script and I approved it.

Co-writer Stig Matthiesen clearly disputed Naser Khaders version of the events and said: I haven't translated one single word from English to Danish. Everything in the book 'Hjertet Bløder' came from Naser. I either heard him give lectures, he skyped me from Washington or he sent me texts in Danish. At no point have I added anything to the book except Nasers spoken word or the material he has sent me.[2]

Libel Case

In September 2017 Naser Khader sent an email to three speakers from other parties in Parliament. In the email he and two other speakers, Marcus Knuth from Venstre and Martin Henriksen from Dansk Folkeparti, put out out a number of serious but unfounded accusations against Sherin Khankan and her colleague Khaterah Parwani, who both worked in the NGO, 'Exitcirklen'. The NGO works to help women that has been subjected to violence and religious and social control. The intention with the email was to thwart a planned funding from Satspuljen to Exitcirklen.

Naser Khader refused to apologize but said the email 'didn't get top grades'.

Sherin Khankan published a private message from Naser Khater. She said she felt the message was an attempt to pressure her into silence because Naser Khader threatened to publish pictures of Sherin Khankan that was taken 17-18 years previously when the two had a brief affair. Law professor Sten Schaumburg-Müller said he considered the email being close to overstepping the Danish penal code. Several other experts claimed the message created a situation of general incompetence. Naser Khader denied the message contained threats. Dansk Folkeparti, Liberal Alliance and Venstre all dissociated from Naser Khaders behaviour. [3]

Honours[]

Bibliography[]

  • Den duftende have (2019)
  • Hjertet bløder - arabisk forår og opløsning (2015)
  • Bekendelser fra en kulturkristen muslim (2013)
  • Naser Khader og folkestyret (2005)
  • Tro mod tro (2005, co-author)
  • Modsætninger mødes (2003, co-author)
  • Nasers Brevkasse (2001)
  • Khader.dk (2000, co-author)
  • Ære og Skam (1996)

References[]

  1. ^ "Naser Khader smidt ud af Konservative". Nyheder.tv2.dk. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
  2. ^ Berndt, Thomas (16 September 2011). "Disse folketingsmedlemmer har fået sparket". Politiken (in Danish). Retrieved 16 September 2011.
  3. ^ Biography on the website of the Danish Parliament (Folketinget). Retrieved August 26, 2015.
  4. ^ "Khader stifter forening mod islamisme" (in Danish). Jyllands-Posten. 2008-10-02. Retrieved 2008-10-02.
  5. ^ Danish Conservatives Call for Burqa Ban
  6. ^ Tim JENSEN (2003). "ISLAM AND MUSLIMS IN DENMARK: AN INTRODUCTION". Universidad de Odense.
  7. ^ Khaders magtfulde netværk | Journalisten
  8. ^ TV-Avisen, October 31, 2007
  9. ^ Naser Khader fremlægger dokumentation mod Se og Hør - Danmark
  10. ^ http://politiken.dk/indland/article416501.ece - November 2
  11. ^ "Khader bekræfter R-exit" (in Danish). Politiken. 2007-05-07. Retrieved 2007-05-07.
  12. ^ Popular MP to create own party Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine, The Copenhagen Post, May 7th, 2007
  13. ^ Rye, Sofie; Ledegaard, Frederik Hugo; Svendsen, Anders Byskov (2 July 2021). "Kvinder anklager Naser Khader for seksuelle krænkelser" (in Danish). DR. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
  14. ^ "Naser Khader smides ud af Det Konservative Folkeparti". DR (in Danish). 2021-08-18. Retrieved 2021-08-21.

External links[]

Political offices
Preceded by
None
Leader of the Liberal Alliance
2007—2009
Succeeded by
Anders Samuelsen
Retrieved from ""