Rep.-elect Keith Ellison (D-MN), the first Muslim elected to Congress, has announced that he will not take his oath of office on the Bible, but on the Koran.
This press release should have been relegated to the back pages of the newspaper, but it caused an uproar in the press and especially in the conservative blogosphere.
Conservative wingnut Dennis Prager wrote that permitting Rep. Ellison to take the oath of office using the Koran would “be doing more damage to the unity of America and to the value system that has formed this country than the terrorists of 9-11.â€ÂÂÂÂÂ
Ellison’s choice of a Koran instead of a Bible is not a sign that the Apocalypse is right around the corner. If anything it speaks of the wonderful religious diversity of our great democracy.
The Constitution guarantees that, “no religious test shall ever be required†to hold public office in America.ÂÂÂ
We are not a Christian nation and the Bible is not the official book for swearing-in ceremonies. The Bible does not have any talismanic properties, any holy or unholy book will do.
As a freethinker, if I ever hold public office, I will choose to be sworn in using Darwin’s “Origin of the Species.”
This is all a bunch of hullabaloo over nothing — no Member of Congress is officially sworn in with a Bible. The official swearing-in ceremony is done in the House chambers, with the Speaker of the House administering the oath of office in masse. After all they aren’t being ordained into the ministry, but sworn in as congresspersons.
What an outrage that a bunch of Christians are clamoring for a Muslim congressman to use a Bible, instead of a Koran, for his unofficial swearing-in ceremony.
How would they like it if members of the Church of Satan demanded that a Christian use the Satanic Bible for his swearing-in ceremony?
This is America for God’s sake, or Allah’s sake, or the Big Bang’s sake! And a politician should be allowed to use any book, including “The Joy of Sex”, in a swearing-in ceremony.
