Essay 1477

From The Chicago Sun-Times…

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Warning on Muslim gets it all wrong

It’s hard to decide where to start when criticizing Rep. Virgil H. Goode Jr. (R-Va.), who thinks Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress, poses a serious threat to American values. His complaint is short on the facts and short on logic, not to mention being short on tolerance. And it’s disrespectful to the voters who elected Ellison.

Goode sent a letter to voters citing the election of Ellison, a Minnesota Democrat and a Muslim, as a warning that Americans need to crack down on immigration or there would likely be “many more Muslims elected to office and demanding the use of the [Quran].”

First of all, Ellison isn’t an immigrant. He’s an African-American convert to Islam who can trace his American roots back to 1742.

And Ellison wants to use the Quran in a private swearing-in ceremony -- after the official event, which requires no religious text. Such constitutional niceties don’t register with Goode, who objects to Ellison’s decision to not use the Bible. But doesn’t it make more sense for Ellison to swear on the book that he regards as the most relevant and holds with the most reverence? Not to Goode.

Goode should learn a lesson from Ellison. “I want to let him know that there’s nothing to fear,” Ellison told the New York Times. “The fact that there are many different faiths, many different colors and many different cultures in America is a great strength.”