Keith Ellison and the Satanic Verses
The title opinion is not neccesarily my own:
Keith Ellison is ruffling conservative feathers for requesting to use the Koran at his Congressional swearing in.
From Dennis Prager's commentary:
So why are we allowing Keith Ellison to do what no other member of Congress has ever done -- choose his own most revered book for his oath?
The answer is obvious. Ellison is a Muslim. And whoever decides these matters, not to mention virtually every editorial page in America, is not going to offend a Muslim. In fact, many of these people argue it will be a good thing because Muslims around the world will see what an open society America is and how much Americans honor Muslims and the Koran.
This argument appeals to all those who believe that one of the greatest goals of America is to be loved by the world, and especially by Muslims because then fewer Muslims will hate us (and therefore fewer will bomb us).
But these naive people do not appreciate that America will not change the attitude of a single American-hating Muslim by allowing Ellison to substitute the Koran for the Bible. In fact, the opposite is more likely: Ellison's doing so will embolden Islamic extremists and make new ones, as Islamists, rightly or wrongly, see the first sign of the realization of their greatest goal, the Islamicization of America.
When all elected officials take their oaths of office with their hands on the very same book, they all affirm that some unifying value system underlies American civilization. If Keith Ellison is allowed to change that, he will 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. It is hard to believe that this is the legacy most Muslim Americans want to bequeath to America. But if it is, it is not only Europe that is in trouble.
My feelings are pretty much in line with Prager's except with the addition of the feeling of insult. I feel that Ellison, along with his friends the 6 Minneapolis Imams, simply don't get how insulting this free proliferation of Islam and the Koran are even 5 years after 9/11. As an American he should forgo the sacred text part of the swearing in and simply confirm to uphold the constitution. Because from what we know about the Muslim worldview, swearing in on a Koran makes it highly suspicious that he actually, ultimately, intends to do it.
Labels: Dennis Prager, Imams, Islam in America, Keith Ellison, Koran
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