Thursday, January 04, 2007

KEITH ELLISON RISES ABOVE

He's the first Muslim member of Congress and hails from Minnesota. On Thursday, he was sworn into office, taking the oath with a Quran that Thomas Jefferson once owned, a two-volume work that was published in 1764.

Some conservatives say Ellison shouldn't have been allowed to use anything but the Bible to take an oath of office. Some even claim (wrongly) that no one has used a Quran to be sworn into office.

The Associated Press reports:
Ellison had already planned to be sworn in using a Quran, rather than a Bible. He learned last month about Jefferson's Quran, with its multicolored cover and brown leather binding, and arranged to borrow it.

Although the Library of Congress is right across the street from the Capitol, library officials took extra precautions in delivering the Quran for the ceremony. To protect it from the elements, they placed the Quran in a rectangular box and handled it with a green felt wrapper once inside the Capitol. ...

The Quran was acquired in 1815 as part of a more than 6,400-volume collection that Jefferson sold for $24,000 to replace the congressional library that had been burned by British troops the year before, in the War of 1812. Jefferson, the nation's third president, was a collector of books in all topics and languages. ...

Some critics have argued that only a Bible should be used for the swearing-in. Last month, Virginia Rep. Virgil Goode (R-Va.), warned that unless immigration is tightened, "many more Muslims" will be elected and follow Ellison's lead.
Ellison walked up to Goode on Thursday and invited him to coffee. After, Ellison said: "Look, we're trying to build bridges." Goode's office offered no comment. Not a surprise response from a guy who thinks tightening immigration will keep Muslims out of the U.S.

8 comments:

John Stone said...

When I heard that yesterday I though it had to be one of the classiest put-downs of some idiots in history.

Anonymous said...

So, when does he hit law enforcement with a cell phone, like Cynthia McKinney, D-GA, you know, the rocket scientist??? Maybe he will just use his book of fiction. What's next, swearing an oath on the satanic bible??? Might as well be, they are one and the same.

Anonymous said...

Wow, I thought someone would post something dumb like that. Glad to see I was rewarded. Whoever you are thanks for being so predictably, and laughably stupid. While your ignorent attitudes only serve to chain you to the backwater notions of your little world, we all get a big laugh out of it. It is a shame friend, the world is a big place, it is easier to live here when you don't chose to hate and ridicule those who are different.
I am sorry you weren't lucky enough to live in a time when people were crueler and bigotry was accepted.I get the feeling you would have been more happy. Now you must sit here as Democrats take over Congress, a Woman is the speaker of the house, a Muslim is a member of Congress, wow it's too bad you can't enjoy living in this time as America takes steps towards the promise of equality set forth in our Constitution. Well, too bad slappy.
Keep the hits rolling.

Anonymous said...

Do we ask Jewish members of Congress to swear on a Bible that includes the New Testament? I'd much rather a member of Congress swear to serve our country on a book in which he believes, rather than on one in which he does not.

Anonymous said...

Actually no one swears on a bible or a Koran or whatever in the House of Reps. One gets sworn in simply by raising one's hand and taking the oath. Then afterwards some members do a photo-op with a bible or in this the case the Koran.

Anonymous said...

http://thinkprogress.org/2006/11/30/koran-bible-prager-ellison

The Libertarian Guy said...

Long as Ellison doesn't try to sneak Muslim law-making practices into his duties, we should be okay.

BTW, will Ellison swear off pork-barrel projects?

Anonymous said...

The Libertarian Guy (tm) said...

"Long as Ellison doesn't try to sneak Muslim law-making practices into his duties, we should be okay."


Let's certainly hope he doesn't. He would be muy busy trying to catch up with all of the overt Christian [sic] biased regulation that has been proposed over the years.