Naser Khader, who resigned from his duties as a Conservative MP to take stress leave in April, will today begin his defense in the Supreme Court against accusations that he accused the female Imam Sherin Khankan.
As she did with a failed trial in the High Court last year, Khankan will claim that Khader defamed her with a character assassination and abuse of power when he sent an email on September 13, 2017 to a group of MPs (from the Radicals, SF and the Alternative ) raises concerns about the Exit Circle, an organization that helps victims of psychological violence, of which she is president.
Concerns about financing
The e-mail, which was signed by the Liberal Party’s Marcus Knuth and DF’s Martin Henriksen and aired concerns that Exit Circle received DKK 680,000 in state support, was subsequently shared with the public, while Khader continued to make a number of posts on Facebook.
At the Eastern High Court last year, which was the first hearing of the case, it was ruled that MPs cannot be held responsible for statements made or written in connection with their work in the Folketing. It further concluded that Khader’s posts on social media were part of the public debate and to some extent valid.
Knuth and Henriksen are no longer being sued as part of the case.
โNot an Islamistโ
Khankan is particularly saddened by Khader’s claim that she has a “black Islamist past” and vehemently denies the accusation, emphasizing how she supports secularism and conducts marriages between religions.
An Islamist is a person who defines Islam as a political ideology. I am a female imam and you cannot be a female imam and an Islamist at the same time, โshe said.
“I think it undermines democracy that powerful politicians at Christiansborg can abuse their political influence to spread lies and undermine the citizens’ personal reputation and professional work.”
Many complaints
But since Khankans failed trial last year, a number of political commentators and colleagues from Khader have claimed that they felt “threatened” by Khader for a period of “many years”.
Specifically, the complainants allege that Khader, who quickly went on stress leave after being sent last month, contacted employers from his rivals with unfounded accusations of pressuring employers to reprimand them.
Source: The Nordic Page