Denmark’s public TV network defended its decision to let a woman wearing an Islamic headscarf host a program for the first time, following criticism by anti-immigration politicians.
Asmaa Abdol Riyad-Hamid, who wears a hijab, co-hosted a new talk show on DR last month, in the wake of the uproar surrounding the Prophet Muhammad cartoons which were first published in a Danish newspaper. Lawmakers for the anti-immigration Danish People’s Party criticized the show, saying the public network should not let program hosts wear religious symbols.
Arne Notkin, a spokesman for the show “Adam and Asmaa,” said Riyad-Hamid, a 24-year-old Palestinian immigrant, was hired because “she was the most competent candidate.”
He said the point of the program, the first in a series of seven shows, was to contrast her strong religious beliefs with the secular values of her co-host, Adam Holm, an atheist.
“We want to have the two different angles in the debate,” Notkin said.
