NORWAY BLOOMS

Norway : the world's  top ranked democracy for the sixth consecutive year, has named Muslim Lawyer and-

Liberal Party Politician Abdul Qayyum Raja as one of five vice presidents of its parliament.

Raja is only the second  Muslim representative after Akhtar Chaudhry to have won the honour. He joins Nils.T. Bjorke, Magne Rommeit, Evia Kristin Hansen, Morten Wold in that role.

Raja cannot help but find great symbolism in his elevation to the office.
In time both within Norway and outside 

Abid Qayyum believes his rise to the office of Vice President will be looked upon as an emblem everywhere and serve to display the cultural diversity of Northern Europe.

In a continent that is adrift in the migrant and refugee crisis, Raja's own upbringing mirrors that of many impoverished families who grew up in municipal apartments and have to struggle hard to achieve any visible change in their status or in their life.