An open House for all
What part of "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof" does congressman Virgil Goode not understand?
Goode, a Virginia Republican, displayed his contempt for the US Constitution in a letter he sent to constituents this month, criticizing the first Muslim elected to Congress for planning to use a ceremonial Koran instead of a Bible to swear his oath of office in January. In the letter, Goode writes that the election of Keith Ellison , Democrat of Minnesota, represents a threat to traditional American "values and beliefs."
It's hard to know where to start with this intolerant rant. First of all, 135,000 voters in Minnesota's Fifth Congressional District cast ballots for Ellison, most of them well aware he is Muslim. Are they, too, a threat to traditional beliefs?
Goode favors strict immigration controls, including reductions in legal immigration, and "troops, fences, and other measures to stop the invasion from Mexico." He writes in the letter that such measures are "necessary to preserve the values and beliefs traditional to the United States of America and to prevent our resources from being swamped." Never mind that Ellison is not an immigrant, but an African-American who converted to Islam while in college, and who traces his family's roots in the United States to the 18th century.
Goode, who posts the Ten Commandments on his office wall, frets that "there will likely be many more Muslims elected to office and demanding the use of the Koran." But Goode should know, because he has been sworn in to Congress five times, that members simply raise their right hands for the official oath and do not use the Bible or any other religious book. Those are reserved for private ceremonies at the discretion of each member.
Ellison, a criminal defense attorney and Minnesota legislator, is himself no stranger to controversy. His candidacy drew criticism because of his past involvement with the separatist Nation of Islam and support for Mumia Abu-Jamal , the convicted murderer of a Philadelphia police officer. He is clearly to the left of most of his colleagues in Congress. But he should be judged on his views and actions, not his faith.
In the 1980s, Massachusetts legislator Barbara Hildt, an Amesbury Democrat, would decline to swear the oath of office with her 159 fellow House members every two years. Her Quaker faith prohibited it, so she "affirmed" her allegiance in a separate ceremony. The Commonwealth did not crumble.
Indeed, the entering 110th Congress will feature more religious diversity than ever, with not just the first Muslim but the first two Buddhists: Hawaii's Mazie Hirono and Hank Johnson of Georgia, both Democrats. Strangely, Congressman Goode seems unconcerned about the Buddhist threat to American "values."
