Although I write a fair bit about Muslims and Islam on this blog, I haven’t said anything yet about the controversy surrounding Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress. Basically, some conservatives are bent out of shape because Ellison wants to use a Koran instead of a Bible during his swearing-in ceremony. Right-wingers have made their typical claims how this will undermine American civilization and a Congressman from Viginia, Virgil Goode, has made some particularly ignorant remarks about the need for immigration reform to keep Muslims out of the U.S.
I haven’t written about this because it all seemed so predictable. There are no doubt multiple angles to this story, but the loudest voices smacked of the kind of Islam-hating that Ralph Peters wrote about in September.
But today the story took an amusing turn. The Washington Post reports that Ellison plans to take his oath using Thomas Jefferson’s personal copy of the Koran:
…the holy book at tomorrow’s ceremony has an unassailably all-American provenance. We’ve learned that the new congressman — in a savvy bit of political symbolism — will hold the personal copy once owned by Thomas Jefferson.
“He wanted to use a Koran that was special,” said Mark Dimunation, chief of the rare book and special collections division at the Library of Congress, who was contacted by the Minnesota Dem early in December. Dimunation, who grew up in Ellison’s 5th District, was happy to help.
Jefferson’s copy is an English translation by George Sale published in the 1750s; it survived the 1851 fire that destroyed most of Jefferson’s collection and has his customary initialing on the pages.
Oh, snap!
8 comments ↓
Hi there, through some detours I stumbled over your blog which very much interests me. Looking forward to read more about your thesis.
Hi Ferramis, glad you found the site. I like the looks of yours, too.
[...] The first Muslim elected to the US house of Representatives will be taking the oath of office soon. He wants to do so with his hand resting on the Quran instead of on the Bible. Makes sense, no? Apparently this has caused a stir with at least one congressman. Claiming it would be “un-American” (what does that phrase mean anyway?) The punchline of it all? The original owner of the Quran he wants to use? Thomas Jefferson. The stink-bringer being from Virginia makes the irony of this one great, though appallingly ignorant nonetheless. (Link from Jim Gibbon.) [...]
Is a Bible usually used in the actual administration of the oath in the House?
Hi Pascal. The answer to that is no. Here’s an exerpt from a Christian Science Monitor article that lays out how things are usually done:
“In Congress, newly elected representatives do not put their left hands on any book. They raise their right hands, and are sworn in together as the speaker of the House administers the oath of office. Some do carry a book, according to House historians, and some choose to photograph a private swearing-in afterward with their hand on the Bible. One senator is known to have carried an expanded Bible that included the Book of Mormon.”
The full article is here: http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1207/p01s03-uspo.htm
Anyone ever do it with a copy of Das Kapital?
Or maybe a favorite Asterix and Obelix issue?
Thanks, Jim. This was what I thought. Thanks for the link, which is very useful.
No problem, Pascal. Glad it was useful.
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