Muslim could be a 1st in Congress

If he does, Ellison, who is the Democratic nominee in an overwhelmingly Democratic district, will take the oath of office with his hand on the Koran and not the Bible -- the first Muslim in American history to be elected to Congress.

Though he publicly downplays his faith, it helped boost Ellison past two local party heavyweights to capture the nomination. In the primary, his campaign triggered a record turnout among Minneapolis's largely Muslim Somali community.

The district, which has a long history of voting Democratic, is made up of middle-income whites, middle- to working-income blacks, and immigrants.

Now, Ellison, 42, is poised to arrive in Washington at a time of acute tension between Muslims and the US government over treatment of Muslims at home and abroad. His Republican opponent, Alan Fine, backed by conservative bloggers across the country, charges that Ellison's past association with the Nation of Islam -- and support he has received from another group that some say is affiliated with terrorist organizations -- should raise red flags for voters.

Ellison seems a bit taken aback by both the right-wing criticism and the growing expectations of national Muslim groups who have heralded him as a chance to have their own voice echoing through the halls of Congress.

"I don't know how this is all going to work out," he said, with the slight frustration of a man who just wants to be himself. "I'm not an imam, I'm not a sheik, I'm not a scholar of Islam. I'm not qualified to really offer a bunch of opinions on Islam.

"Are Muslims going to have such high expectations [of me] that they're only going to be disappointed? I don't know," he said. "Are people who aren't Muslim going to be afraid of what I might do -- am I going to try to propose a bill to establish Sharia law? Am I going to be a good enough Muslim for [other] Muslims? I don't know. There are a lot of questions that only time can answer."

A Michigan native, Ellison was born into a Catholic family, but converted to Islam while in college at Wayne State University in Detroit. He came to Minneapolis to attend law school at the University of Minnesota, graduated in 1987, and worked as a trial lawyer and a civil rights attorney before winning a seat in the Minnesota Legislature in 2002. He has served two terms as a state representative.

Ellison, who resembles a baby-faced graduate student more than a religious or political firebrand, said that being a Muslim in the Minnesota State House was no big deal. All the legislators seemed aware of his religion, but no one was disrespectful. He said he got a resolution passed to set aside a day honoring Muslims, and members of both parties attended the festivities.

On the stump, Ellison would rather talk about his agenda -- US withdrawal from Iraq, minimum-wage increases -- than his religion. "I'm just trying to emphasize the issues I feel most passionate about: peace, universal healthcare coverage, and fighting for the middle class," he said. "Somebody asks me about my faith, I'll talk about it, then I'll move on to something that I really want to talk about."

The American Muslim Association website links government statistics indicating that there are as many as 7 million Muslims in the United States, and that the number of mosques nationwide has increased by 25 percent since 1994. Of all American Muslims affiliated with mosques, 30 percent have converted from other religions.

Politically, the Muslim association notes, Ellison's run could smash barriers keeping Muslims from their share of political power.

In the late 1990s, the group launched the "2000 by 2000" project, dedicated to placing 2,000 Muslim political candidates in offices by the year 2000. They got 700, according to the alliance, and that number plunged to a relative handful after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Nihad Awad, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations , said Muslims abroad have called him about Ellison's historic bid for office.

"People are asking, `Is it true?' " Awad said. "He's showing not only America but the world" that things are changing and Muslims can be accepted in America. "He's a breath of fresh air in this time of tension and suspicion."

Fine said Ellison cannot run away from his past affiliation with the Nation of Islam and leader Louis Farrakhan. Ellison concedes that he supported Farrakhan as a young man, but the group's negative messages turned him off. Since then, he has built relations with Minneapolis's Jewish community.

Though some voters in the Fifth District worry that those on the right will try to make his profile an issue, Ellison said he is not worried. He also rejects the notion that he'll represent a "Muslim agenda" in Washington.

"I'm representing the Fifth Congressional District if I'm blessed enough to win," he said. "That's what I'm representing, and I'm going to be super clear on that. There are Muslims in the Fifth . . . and there are Jews and there are blacks and there are whites and there are management people and there are trade unionists and there are environmentalists.

"I ask them to object as Americans" to discrimination, profiling and other things he considers to be injustices. "Wrong doesn't know a race or color or religion, and neither does right.

"Yes, I am a Muslim American," he added. "I'm proud to be one. . . . But when I walk out the door I'm not thinking about my religious identity. I'm thinking about what my neighbors need."