differently. Homosexual and lesbian activist groups protested against the council's refusal to deplore the death penalty. Yusuf al-Qaradawi The Islamic Council Norway was criticised in 2009 when, according to some sources, it refused to distance itself or comment on the leader of the European Council for Fatwa and Research (ECFR), Yusuf al-Qaradawi, after he praised the Holocaust as "a divine punishment for the Jews." However, the council's leader did in fact issue a statement where al-Qaradawis praise of Holocaust was deemed "unacceptable", and promised that the council would pursue the matter through its membership in the ECFR. Niqab In March 2017 the IRN hired Leyla Hasic, a woman who wears the face-covering veil niqab to work with communication and as a "bridge builder to mainstream society" for the organisation. She was a strong proponent of the garment. Minister of Culture Linda Hofstad Helleland criticised the appointment of Hasic as creating a greater distance between Muslim and Norwegian society and lessening the mutual understanding. Prime minister Erna Solberg publicly stated that a person wearing niqab would never be employed by her. References External links Islamic Council Norway Official Website 1993 establishments in Norway Islam in Norway Islamic organizations established in 1993 Islamic organizations in Europe Organisations based in Oslo