DRAMMEN (Dagbladet): – Hello, boys! Up here!
Masud Gharahkhani looks a bit like Tony Soprano when he stands on the terrace above the garage. Sunglasses, shorts, black T-shirt he has been scolded for going along by his wife. Heat on the charcoal grill.
The president of the Storting has agreed to a summer interview, and since Dagbladet asked if we could get the recipe for his marinade, he just as easily went “all in”.
The barbecue skewers are ready with marinated chicken thighs. Paprika and tomato will also get a trip over the coals. Tsatsiki and a kind of Persian salad are also on the table. The recipe for the marinade is in the fact box, as he promised.
– What kind of music do you listen to? It is a Persian radio channel that broadcasts from the United States. It hits me in the heart. Would you like a beer? says Masud, with whom we are now definitely on a first name basis.
The photographer is driving and has to make do with Aa’s light beer while the rest of us quench our thirst with real things.
Masuds marinade
Olive oil
Lots of lemon (Masud used 6-7 lemons!)
Saffron (1/3 of a teaspoon)
Salt
Pepper
Paprika powder
Lots of onions
A little curry
Marinate the chicken thighs for 24 hours. Thread them on skewers and spend plenty of time on the grill – not too hot with chicken. Masud brushed the chicken thighs with margarine along the way.
PERSIAN FLAVORS: Grilled chicken, tsatsiki, saffron rice and some greens. Photo: HANS ARNE Vedlog / Dagbladet Show more
Masud Gharahkhani is Muslim who drinks (real) beer, eats pork and has gone to church more than to the mosque in his life. He leads the national committee for the jubilee of the Christianization of Norway in 2030.
Not everything went according to modern standards when Norway became a Christian nation a thousand years ago, but Gharahkhani can say that they got one ball dead at the first meeting:
– Everything does not have to be so politically correct all the time. It is clear that we will celebrate Christianity in 2030 and what the church has meant for Norway. Then we will also put it into our times and what kind of nation we want to be, says Masud.
– How is faith these days?
– I am Muslim, I believe in God, and that has always been an important part of my life. So I have had a special upbringing that I am characterized by. The mission church in Skotselv was the natural meeting place. Svein Ludvig is still my priest, and I attended all the services, says Masud.
Little Masud was born in Tehran in 1982 and the family fled to Norway in 1987. It was actually supposed to be the United States, but in Turkey there was only a handful of dollars left. An old general who helped the opposition get away from the clergy took care of them. They could either come to Scandinavia right away, or take the chance of waiting to get to the promised land.
It was a cold November day in Fornebu.
When the grandfather was visiting Drammen, he crossed himself when he passed Bragernes church.
– It is also my house of worship, said grandfather. He taught me that it is not what you eat or drink that is important, but how you are as a person.
In 2016, the grandfather died in Tehran. He who was so proud that Gharahkhani became a radiographer and could send a picture of him in white clothes, but was angry and disappointed when he heard that his grandson was going to become a politician.
– In his world, politics was corrupt, what kept the family divided. But he realized it eventually. Norway is a different country.
He has not been able to keep the promise he made to his grandfather to take care of his grandmother. As a clear critic of the regime in a high position, it is impossible for him to travel to his home country.
– It’s hard for me. That was the promise I made to Grandpa just before he died. Grandpa and I had a very special relationship. The day after the funeral I was supposed to help grandma clean. When we got to his favorite suit, we found the pocket watch I bought him when I was 14 and on a trip on the white buses to Auschwitz. He wore that every day. I just had to get away so as not to cry in front of her, says Masud.
THE PRESIDENT: Masud Gharahkhani may resemble a certain mafia boss when he grills, but he is really just the president of the Storting in Norway. Photo: HANS ARNE Vedlog / Dagbladet Show more
It is not possible to see if the tears are now also coming from behind the dark sunglasses.
Norway has had significant parliamentary presidents. Masud himself highlights Jo Benkow from the Conservative Party and Kirsti Kolle Grøndahl from the Labor Party.
The office is above the prime minister in rank, second only to the king. Evil tongues would have it so that Gharahkhani has not quite realized that actually is not like that. It’s only on paper.
– I have known Kirsti for a long time and was one of the first to make contact, but I had to read up a bit on what the role entails. I would like to say that Jo Benkow is someone I really appreciate, even though ideologically we do not belong to the same movement. He also used the role of president to promote important values for Norway, says Masud.
Gharahkhani has committed himself forcefully against the Iranian dictatorship, he has been active in Ukrainian politics, has traveled the country and coast and visited high schools, voluntary organisations, participates in openings and ceremonies.
In addition to the main job with getting the Storting to work for all parties, and perhaps the most important thing: get all the mess with travel bills, commuter accommodation and special arrangements the politicians have previously agreed to cleaned up.
“We are a society of trust, and when I travel around I get feedback that it is appreciated that we in the presidency take it seriously.”
– It is important for trust in society that the arrangements are fair and that they are necessary. We are a society of trust, and when I travel around I get feedback that it is appreciated that we in the presidency take it seriously.
The clean-up job has now been put to an end before the summer, following reprimands from the National Audit Office and final disposal of parliamentary representatives’ severance pay and travel bills.
Many of the politicians who have been given too much have only followed the advice they have been given.
– Have you been a good enough trustee for those who have received too much without realizing it – and then have their lives turned upside down and are hanged?
Gharahkhani understands the question, but something has been more important:
– I take seriously the fact that I am a shop steward for everyone who sits in the Storting. But we in the presidency have been keen to do this in the right order. We had to find out what was wrong with the arrangements. So we have landed some austerity measures before the summer. But some arrangements must also remain in order for people to be able to do their jobs regardless of their background and where they live.
The beer is warm and soon drunk, and now Masud has to top up with coal after all the talk. The grilling is about to start, and no one can say no to another cold lager in this heat.
MORNING PILS: When grilling, you are allowed to have a pint even in the middle of the bright morning. Photo: Hans Arne Vedlog / Dagbladet Show more
Gharahkhani was introduced in the national political arena after he entered the Storting in 2017. The Labor Party lost that election. Then came metoo, internal noise and strife.
One of the stories about the 2017 election campaign is Sylvi Listhaug’s trip to Sweden and warning against “Swedish conditions”. The warning was clear: This would be the result if the Labor Party won the election and then governed with SV.
Gharahkhani led the work on the new immigration and integration policy of the Labor Party, which advocated severe austerity. It was unanimously adopted at the national meeting in 2019.
Then he had said things like “if you live in Norway, you must become part of Norway” and created big waves internally.
– I have had a great advantage in that I grew up in a small place. My friends spoke Norwegian, and it was possible to get work. I am completely convinced that the settlement of immigrants and refugees should be as widely spread as possible, in order to achieve the best possible integration, says Masud.
He is careful not to comment on the video that has gone viral in the past week, where secondary school students refuse to take the principal by the hand because she is a woman while “haram” is shouted from the hall.
– You must take the teacher and headmaster by the hand, whether it is a woman or a man. In Norway, we show respect for each other regardless of gender, orientation or religion. That’s how Norway works. When I have international guests visiting Norway, they often say that we are lucky to have the oil. Then I say that it is not the oil that has made us rich. We are rich because we all, women and men, participate fully and that we trust each other, says Masud.
It’s this glue in society Masud says he wants to make stronger. And then it may just be that some people think it sometimes becomes a bit too much Gharahkhani.
– I would warn against taking democracy for granted. The values that have been fought for are under pressure with the war in Ukraine. I will stand up for human rights and freedom, which is why I am getting involved in Iran. It was emotionally strong for me when I stood on the parliament balcony on May 17 with Ruslan Stefanchuk, head of the Ukrainian parliament.
– We looked beyond the children’s train, and then I thought that it goes without saying that it is a children’s train. When we looked at each other a few tears came. What we celebrated together that day is what Ukrainians are fighting for.
Did the food taste good? You bet.
BE SO GOOD: Masud Gharahkhani hopes Norwegians will be a little more creative on the grill this summer. How about trying a Persian variant? Photo: Hans Arne Vedlog / Dagbladet Show more
2023-07-03 07:24:09
#shake #hands #Norway
