In mid-November 2006 it was reported that Keith Ellison, the first Muslim ever elected to the United States Congress (as a representative for Minnesota's 5th congressional district), would take his oath of office with his hand on the Qur'an. In reaction to the news, conservative 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."
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." In response to a wave of criticism, Prager released another column on the topic on December 5, 2006, entitled "A response to my many critics--and a solution." In that column, Prager repeated the claim that no, or hardly any, officeholder in U.S. history had ever refused to take his oath on the Bible.
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...[and] 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." Goode's foray into the controversy caused many other members of Congress to weigh in.
Ellison went on to use the English translation of the Qur'an owned by Thomas Jefferson for the swearing-in ceremony.
Video Quran oath controversy of the 110th United States Congress
Constitutional provisions
Critics of Prager point out that the United States Constitution provides "no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States" (Article VI, section 3) and at least four Presidents have not been sworn in on a Bible.
In his December 5, 2006 article on the subject Prager denied that he was promoting a de facto religious test, despite his position that Ellison should not be allowed to take his oath on the Qur'an. Law Professor Eugene Volokh noted that the Constitution states officials "'shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required...' The option of giving an affirmation rather than oath...[shows] the Constitution thus already expressly authorizes people not to swear at all, but to affirm, without reference to God or to a sacred work. Atheists and agnostics are thus protected, as well as members of certain Christian groups [such as Quakers]. Why would Muslims and others not be equally protected from having to perform a religious ritual that expressly invokes a religion in which they do not believe?" Mazie Hirono (D-HI), who is a Buddhist, announced that she would use the affirmation option and without the use of any religious text in the swearing-in ceremony.
Maps Quran oath controversy of the 110th United States Congress
Questions on "unbroken tradition"
Critics challenged Prager's claim that swearing in with a Bible is a "tradition that has been unbroken since George Washington." For example, John Quincy Adams took the presidential oath on a law volume containing a copy of the Constitution in 1825, and in 1853 Franklin Pierce affirmed the oath rather than swearing it. Theodore Roosevelt used no Bible in taking his first oath of office in 1901, but did in 1905. Other sources have noted that after John F. Kennedy was assassinated a Catholic missal was used as no Bible could be found when Lyndon B. Johnson (who was not Catholic, but a Disciple of Christ) had to assume the Presidency.
The Library of Congress notes that "As the first Catholic elected president, Kennedy was the first to use a Catholic (Douay-Rheims) version of the Bible for his oath."
Prager rescinds call for Ellison not to serve
Although Prager previously wrote that Ellison should not be allowed to use the Qur'an for his swearing-in ceremony and that he should not serve in Congress if he was "incapable of taking an oath on that book [the Bible]," he subsequently stated in a telephone interview with the Associated Press that he did not think Ellison should be banned from serving. "I don't think anything legal should be done about this." In an interview with USA Today's Andrea Stone, Prager indicated that he would continue to write and speak about his opinion that Ellison and others should not use the Qur'an for swearing-in ceremonies while acknowledging that legally preventing Ellison from using the Qur'an could be unconstitutional. Prager said "I'm not arguing legality. I'm arguing what you should do."
Prager calls on Ellison to bring Bible with Qur'an
In his December 5, 2006 column entitled "A response to my many critics--and a solution," Prager's proposed that Ellison should swear on the Qur'an as well as the Bible. Prager wrote "It is not I, but Keith Ellison, who has engaged in disuniting the country. He can still help reunite it by simply bringing both books to his ceremonial swearing-in. Had he originally announced that he would do that, I would have written a different column -- filled with praise of him. And there would be a lot less cursing and anger in America." In a December 7, 2006 interview, Prager continued along these lines, saying "I'm afraid we are becoming a diverse, secular society without any roots, and this is symbolically an example of that. The Bible is the repository of our values, not the Constitution...and I'm asking him to honor that and include the Bible along with the Koran."
The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council's resolution
Because of his part in the controversy, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) called for Prager to be removed from the council overseeing the U.S. Holocaust Memorial. CAIR's executive director said "No one who holds such bigoted, intolerant and divisive views should be in a policymaking position at a taxpayer-funded institution that seeks to educate Americans about the destructive impact hatred has had, and continues to have, on every society". Some members of the Memorial Council like Ed Koch were vocal in advocating his removal. In the end the executive committee of the council issued a resolution that the Council "disassociates itself from Mr. Prager's statements as being antithetical to the mission of the [Holocaust] Museum as an institution promoting tolerance and respect for all peoples regardless of their race, religion or ethnicity".
Impact of Rep. Virgil Goode
A new level of gravity came to the controversy when responding to "a flood of e-mails from constituents" about Ellison's oath, fifth term Representative Virgil H. Goode, Jr. (R-VA) issued a letter on the matter. Goode wrote "When I raise my hand to take the oath on Swearing In Day, I will have the Bible in my other hand. I do not subscribe to using the Koran in any way. The Muslim Representative from Minnesota was elected by the voters of that district and 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...I fear that in the next century we will have many more Muslims in the United States if we do not adopt the strict immigration policies that I believe are necessary to preserve the values and beliefs traditional to the United States of America and to prevent our resources from being swamped."
Goode's letter generated much criticism from Muslim-American advocacy groups and from his fellow United States Legislators. Among those critical of Goode, are Reps. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ), Jim Moran (D-VA), Michael Honda (D-CA), Rahm Emanuel (D-IL), and Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) plus Senators Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC).
Goode's spokesman, Linwood Duncan, said "no apology was forthcoming, and that the congressman stands by the letter."
Thomas Jefferson's Qur'an
On January 3, 2007, the Washington Post announced that Ellison "will hold the personal copy once owned by Thomas Jefferson" lent to him by "the rare book and special collections division at the Library of Congress".
Mark Dimunation, head of the rare book and special collections division at the Library of Congress (and former resident of the Congressional District Ellison now represents) said he was contacted early in December 2006 by Ellison, who told him "He wanted to use a Koran that was special."
Ellison spokesman Rick Jauert said "Keith is paying respect not only to the founding fathers' belief in religious freedom but the Constitution itself." Ellison, who was originally told about the Qur'an from an anonymous letter, spoke to the Associated Press in a phone interview. He said that using Jefferson's Qur'an makes a point, "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. A visionary like Thomas Jefferson was not afraid of a different belief system", Ellison said. "This just shows that religious tolerance is the bedrock of our country, and religious differences are nothing to be afraid of."
Opening day of the 110th Congress
Ellison at interfaith service
On January 4, 2007, before the first session of the 110th Congress, Ellison at a multi-faith prayer service recited verse Al-Hujurat 49:13 from the Quran which said: 'Oh, humanity, we created you from a single pair, male and female, and made you tribes and nations so that you would know each other and not despise each other.'"
Ceremonial reenactment
After the members of the 110th House of Representatives were sworn in en masse, Ellison was the first Representative scheduled to have his picture taken with the new Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. Though the Library of Congress is directly across the street from the Capitol, Thomas Jefferson's Quran took fifteen minutes to arrive as it was brought through "a long, winding underground route via tunnels...to protect the Quran from the elements". Once inside the Capitol the Quran was placed in a rectangular box, and handled with a green felt wrapper then guards ran the book through security x-ray machines. Ellison was impressed by the two-volume set, saying "Look at that. That's something else. Oh my God. This is great." A few minutes later, Nancy Pelosi arrived and photos of a ceremonial reenactment oath were taken. There were so many of Ellison's family in attendance that the ceremony was done in two takes. Among his family was his mother Clida Ellison who thought that the controversy had a positive effect, "because many people in America are going to learn what the diversity of America is all about". Clida Ellison noted that she is a practicing Roman Catholic who goes to Mass every day. Ellison expressed his satisfaction that the controversy was behind him, "It was good, we did it, it's over, and now it's time to get down to business...maybe we don't have to talk about it so much anymore. Not that I'm complaining, but the pressing issues the country is facing are just a little bit more on my mind right now."
Aftermath
On December 12, 2017, Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore's spokesman, Ted Crockett, was interviewed on CNN, defending Moore's statement that Muslims should not be allowed to serve in Congress, based on the inaccurate belief that all incoming members of Congress are legally required to swear their oath of service on a Christian Bible. The interviewer, Jake Tapper, informed Crockett that this is not true, and incoming members may choose to swear their oath on a Hebrew Bible, or a Quran (as Ellison did). Crockett appeared lost for a response, indicating that he was unaware of Ellison's election, or the circumstances of his taking office. A later article by the New York Times elaborated that "Mr. Ellison, or anyone else, could have also used a comic book, a lesser Shakespeare play or nothing at all."
Sources
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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