Newly elected Muslim lawmaker under fire
The first Muslim elected to Congress hasn't been sworn into office yet, but his act of allegiance has already been criticized by a conservative commentator.
In a column posted Tuesday on the conservative website Townhall.com, Dennis Prager blasted Minnesota Democrat Keith Ellison's decision to take the oath of office Jan. 4 with his hand on a Quran, the Muslim holy book.
"He should not be allowed to do so," Prager wrote, "not because of any American hostility to the Koran, but because the act undermines American culture." He said Ellison, a convert from Catholicism, should swear on a Christian Bible – which "America holds as its holiest book.... If you are incapable of taking an oath on that book, don't serve in Congress."
See also TownHall.com, 28 November 2006 and Think Progress, 30 November 2006
Martin Sullivan