Sunday, November 30, 2008

Keith Ellison


http://freecopts.net/arabic/arabic/images/blog/ellisonobama.jpg

Keith Maurice Ellison (born August 4, 1963) is an American lawyer and politician belonging to the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party. He became the first Muslim to be elected to the United States Congress when he won the open seat for Minnesota's 5th congressional district, which centers on Minneapolis, in the House of Representatives in 2006.

http://www.thewashingtonnote.com/archives/keith%20ellison%20oath.jpg

Because Ellison stated an intent to use the Quran instead of a Bible at his photo-op reenactment of the swearing in ceremony, Conservative columnist Dennis Prager wrote a column criticizing him.

Virgil Goode has stated his view that Ellison's decision to use the Quran is a threat to "the values and beliefs traditional to the United States of America". He also wrote, "...if American citizens don’t wake up and adopt the Virgil Goode position on immigration there will likely be many more Muslims elected to office and demanding the use of the Quran."

CNN reported that on the January 4, 2007 (the opening day of Congress), Ellison met Goode on the House floor to shake hands and Goode accepted an offer to talk over coffee.

That same day during his oath reenactment Ellison used a two volume Quran published in London in 1764 that was once owned by Thomas Jefferson and loaned to Ellison. According to Ellison, "It demonstrates that from the very beginning of our country, we had people who were visionary, who were religiously tolerant, who believed that knowledge and wisdom could be gleaned from any number of sources, including the Quran."

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