Heh. This is very cool (that is, cool that a Muslim was elected, and very cool that he’s going to be sworn in on the Koran and not the Bible…not so cool that some idiots are up in arms about this)…
Rep.-elect Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress, found himself under attack last month when he announced he’d take his oath of office on the Koran — especially from Virginia Rep. Virgil Goode, who called it a threat to American values.
Yet the holy book at tomorrow’s ceremony has an unassailably all-American provenance. We’ve learned that the new congressman — in a savvy bit of political symbolism — will hold the personal copy once owned by Thomas Jefferson.
[…]
Ellison will take the official oath of office along with the other incoming members in the House chamber, then use the Koran in his individual, ceremonial oath with new Speaker Nancy Pelosi. “Keith is paying respect not only to the founding fathers’ belief in religious freedom but the Constitution itself,” said Ellison spokesman Rick Jauert.
One person unlikely to be swayed by the book’s illustrious history is Goode, who released a letter two weeks ago objecting to Ellison’s use of the Koran. “I believe that the overwhelming majority of voters in my district would prefer the use of the Bible,” the Virginia Republican told Fox News, and then went on to warn about what he regards as the dangers of Muslims immigrating to the United States and Muslims gaining elective office.
Excuse me? The “dangers of Muslims immigrating…[and] gaining elective office?” Just what ‘dangers’ are there? And this guy’s a Representative?
How incredibly sad. I’m glad he doesn’t represent me.
At least he isn’t Atheist.
He wouldn’t even get into office if that were the case
The intertwining of civil religion and true religion is truly deplorable.
As a Bible-believing Christian, I feel much better about Ellison’s use of the Quran, than I would if he were to choose to use a book in which he did not believe.
Of course, there are those in Albemarle County that realize that Jefferson’s Bible is considerably shorter than Virgil Goode’s, again showing that claims that this is a “Christian nation” are somewhat off the mark.
I have to look at the Kennedy-era joke about papal infallability. I’ll tag it when I find it.