ISLAMABAD: The State of Virginia in the United States (US) has appointed the first Muslim minister of Pakistani descent to take over the state’s education portfolio.
According to reports, Atif Qarni took an oath of office on the Holy Quran to become the secretary of education.
A video on social media shows the new minister performing the constitutional oath to the office on the Holy Quran in front of the governor of Virginia, Ralph Northam.
يوم تاريخي في ولاية فيرجينيا حيث قام عاطف القرني بأداء القسم على القرآن الكريم ليصبح وزيراً للتعليم في تلك الولاية،،و هو أميركي من أصول باكستانية
Historic day In Virginia as Atif Qarni was sworn the on holy Quran to become the next secretary of education. pic.twitter.com/TQbYvHFu3r— Muna AbuSulayman منى (@abusulayman) January 15, 2018
Qarni is set to oversee an educational policy which supports state schools as well as higher education institutions.
According to the Richmond Times, the Muslim American is the first Muslim to receive a ministerial post.
“It’s important that we have a state education secretary who understands the curriculum and classes from kindergarten to high school and has a vision of how to develop education,” Northam State Governor said on the occasion.
Born in Karachi in 1978, Qarni immigrated to the US with his family at age 10 and grew up in Parkville, Maryland, before moving to Manassas, Virginia in 2005.