Muslim politician in Scotland takes oath of allegiance in Urdu

Humza Yousaf, who won a seat from the city of Glasgow, spoke first in English and then in Urdu

In yet another powerful display of British multiculturalism, a Muslim politician elected to Scottish parliament delivered his oath of allegiance in his native language, Urdu.

.@HumzaYousaf just gave his swearing in oath in Urdu. Look how great it sounds: pic.twitter.com/mvPqRucslx

— Siraj Datoo (@dats) May 12, 2016

Humza Yousaf, a member of the Scottish National Party(SNP) who won a seat from the city of Glasgow, spoke first in English and then in Urdu, swearing; "that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth" and closing with "so help me God."



Yousaf’s party advocated Scotland's unsuccessful bid for independence in 2014 on the basis of an inclusive, diverse national vision and for a greater control over its own affairs. The SNP now governs politics in Edinburgh and also boasts sizable bloc of seats in Westminster.

While some on social media were predictable appalled by the swearing in of a Muslim MP, Yousaf however laughed off the anticipated backlash to his oath from those fearful of the role of Islam in British society.

Think Islamaphobia just made up? This comes after I simply put up a pic of my family. Luckily more good ppl than bad pic.twitter.com/pme0qNtDIg

— Humza Yousaf (@HumzaYousaf) May 13, 2016

Yousaf was not the only politician to take the oath in another language: Other members of Scottish parliament spoke in local tongues such as Doric, Gaelic and Scots.

Many took to Twitter in support of the Muslim politician.

Just a wee tweet of support for @HumzaYousaf because of the abuse he got for his oath in Urdu. We must have zero tolerance of racism.

— @moflomojo.bsky.social (@MoFloMoJo) May 14, 2016

Scottish Pakistani Muslim politician @HumzaYousaf wears a kilt swears oath in English & Urdu to Queen #multicultural #Britain at its best!

— Saima Mohsin (@SaimaMohsin) May 14, 2016

@TarekFatah Yep, Muslim members of parliament allowed in Scotland. It's called liberal democracy that reflects all society. #HumzaYousaf

— robertgall92 (@robertgall92) May 14, 2016

#HumzaYousaf just gave his swearing in oath in Urdu. Look how great it sounds despite #media ignore him... https://t.co/Kihk8MjqtT

— Muhammad Zeeshan Awan (@surrakimuhammad) May 13, 2016

#HumzaYousaf just gets my back up. #bbcqt

— Rod Bishop (@rodbishop15) May 12, 2016

This article originally appeared on The Washington Post