Norway: Parliament member against Muslim taxi drivers

Norway: Parliament member against Muslim taxi drivers


Ulf Erik Knudsen, parliament member for the Norwegian Progress Party, has joined the Facebook group "we demand non-Muslim taxi drivers".

Knudsen says he joined the group to show that freedom of speech should be protected. He points to the Muslim taxi drivers protest in Oslo on Feb. 6th, when they stopped working in protest of Dagbladet printing the Mohammed cartoons. That the drivers did this shows that they don't respect freedom of speech, thinks Knudsen.

"When it comes to rapes in Oslo, it has happened several times that the attacker is of Muslim background, while the victim has been of Western or Norwegian background," he told NRK.

The group says it's a direct threat to get into a taxi with a Muslim driver, and the group demands the right to live life in safety from criminals.

Q: Would you rather see that there won't be any Muslim taxi drivers?

A: That was the most stupidest question. I think it's not worthy of a comment, answers Knudsen.

Lise Christoffersen, immigration policy spokesperson for the Labor Party thinks Knudsen has crossed the line. She says it's almost as if people can't take it seriously, it looks so far out.

Knudsen later left the group. He said that after NRK drew his attention to some of what the group wrote, he couldn't stay there. However, he says he joined as a protest against those who protested against freedom of speech, but it's clear that some of the group members support things he himself doesn't.

The group had 64 members Tuesday morning, and a few hours later, when NTB checked again, it had 94.

Source: VG 1 , 2(Norwegian)