The first female Muslim senator in Australia was sworn in on Monday.
Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi tweeted soon after the ceremony: “An honor to be sworn into the Australian senate (…) Excited to get to work with my brilliant Greens colleagues.”
Monday’s development came a week after Katter's Australian Party senator Fraser Anning called for banning Muslims from migrating to Australia.
During his inaugural speech at the Senate, he said that the ban would be the “final solution” to the migrant problem in the country, quoting the term used by Nazis to rid Europe of Jews during World War II.
On Monday, Faruqi shook hands with Anning, who congratulated her on entering the Senate.
Labor's Senate leader Penny Wong told Faruqi: "After last week particularly, it is really good to have you here.”
Faruqi immigrated to Australia from Pakistan in 1992. She was a successful engineer and academic for nearly two decades before entering the realm of politics.
In 2013, she became the first Muslim Australian woman to join the parliament.
Muslims make up 6.2 percent of Australia’s 24 million people.
