Global InformationQuran oath controversy of the 110th United States Congress information
In mid-November 2006, it was reported that Keith Ellison, the first Muslim ever elected to the United States Congress, would take his oath of office (as a representative for Minnesota's 5th congressional district) with his hand on the Qur'an.[1][2] In reaction to the news, right-wing media pundit Dennis Prager criticized the decision in his November 28, 2006, column titled "America, not Keith Ellison, decides what book a Congressman takes his oath on," saying, "What Ellison and his Muslim and leftist supporters are saying is that it is of no consequence what America holds as its holiest book; all that matters is what any individual holds to be his holiest book."[3]
The column attracted national attention from supporters of both Ellison and Prager. Presented with the fact that all members of the House swear in (or affirm) en masse without the use of any religious text, and that such works are only used in ceremonial reenactments afterwards, Prager stated "That's the whole point: It's exactly because it's ceremonial that it matters."[4]
The controversy became more heated when Rep. Virgil Goode (R–VA) issued a letter to his constituents stating his view that Ellison's decision to use the Qur'an is a threat to "the values and beliefs traditional to the United States of America ... 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 Koran."[5] Goode's foray into the controversy caused many other members of Congress to weigh in.
Ellison went on to use the English translation of a Qur'an owned by Thomas Jefferson, George Sale's Alcoran of Mohammed, for the swearing-in ceremony.[6][7]
- ^ James Gordon Meek (November 12, 2006). "Jihadists trash Muslim U.S. rep". New York Daily News. Archived from the original on January 18, 2016. Retrieved December 9, 2006.
- ^ Rochelle Olson (November 19, 2006). "First Muslim on his way to Congress - he will represent Minnesota, Islam". McClatchy. Archived from the original on September 29, 2007. Retrieved December 6, 2006.
- ^ Dennis Prager (November 28, 2006). "America, not Keith Ellison, decides what book a congressman takes his oath on". Archived from the original on December 3, 2006. Retrieved December 4, 2006.
- ^ "Ellison's Quran choice stirring controversy". McClatchy. Associated Press. December 2, 2006. Archived from the original on July 13, 2011. Retrieved December 5, 2006.
- ^ Erika Howsare (December 19, 2006). "Anti-Muslim letter goes out to hundreds - not all are amused". Archived from the original on December 11, 2008. Retrieved December 20, 2006.
- ^ Frederic J. Frommer (January 5, 2007). "Ellison Uses Thomas Jefferson's Quran". The Washington Post. Washington DC: WPC. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on September 21, 2015. Retrieved September 3, 2015.
- ^ "Thomas Jefferson's copy of the Koran to be used in Congressional swearing-in ceremony". loc.gov (Press release). U.S. Library of Congress. January 3, 2007. Archived from the original on January 20, 2017. Retrieved March 23, 2017.
When Rep.-elect Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) takes his individual ceremonial oath of office on Jan. 4, it is to be with one hand upon Thomas Jefferson's copy of the Koran ... Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress, requested to take the oath upon Jefferson's personal copy of George Sale's 1734 translation of the Koran, commonly called the Alcoran of Mohammed (London: Hawes, Clarke, Collins and Wilcox, 1764). The two-volume work, which resides in the Library of Congress' Rare Book and Special Collections Division, is one of nearly 6,500 titles sold to Congress by Jefferson in 1815 to replace the Congressional Library, that had been destroyed when the British burned the Capitol during the War of 1812.