Muslim Congress Representative, Keith Ellison takes his oath by putting his hand on the Qur'an.
We all have been hearing about this incident.
At the beginning when i heard this news, I was worried that this will arouse new problems toward Muslims. I was telling myself "Since some of Congress members do not even use a book, and they just raise their hands to take the oath, why can't Rep. Ellison just do the same and swear by the name of Allah, without a book like the rest. This way, it will be just normal and will save him and Muslims all critisism. I thought that as a Muslim, there are much important things he should be proving. And maybe starting his membership with all these hysterical reactions toward him might not be an indication of a good start.
But then I came to realize two important things:
First of all, the Congress must understand how deep Rep. Ellison's loyalty is to America. He chose his holy book, the Quraan, to take the oath. It is this serious to him. He is this sure of his loyalty to his country. Qura'an is a way of life, it sets all the rules that a human being will need to live a decent life. Rep. Ellison's oath was taken on the book that organizes his whole life. We must not forget that taking an oath over Qura'an in Islam is not something easy. If you take a false oath, or break your oath in the future, it is considered a serious sin.
Second of all, by doing this, Rep. Ellsion - I am quoting Mr. James Zogbi- "sends a clear message to the world about American diversity and our values of acceptance and inclusion that have made us strong." Americans should be proud that a new member of their congress sees this diversity as a key of success to the American story, and chooses to start his political career as a congress member reminding America of one of its successive elements, accepting diversity. What is really interesting is that Rep. Ellison used Qur'an copy that once belonged to none other than President Thomas Jefferson, the USA's thrid president. Rep. Ellison used this copy to remind Americans of how understanding their profounders once were toward diversity.
But then I came to realize two important things:
First of all, the Congress must understand how deep Rep. Ellison's loyalty is to America. He chose his holy book, the Quraan, to take the oath. It is this serious to him. He is this sure of his loyalty to his country. Qura'an is a way of life, it sets all the rules that a human being will need to live a decent life. Rep. Ellison's oath was taken on the book that organizes his whole life. We must not forget that taking an oath over Qura'an in Islam is not something easy. If you take a false oath, or break your oath in the future, it is considered a serious sin.
Second of all, by doing this, Rep. Ellsion - I am quoting Mr. James Zogbi- "sends a clear message to the world about American diversity and our values of acceptance and inclusion that have made us strong." Americans should be proud that a new member of their congress sees this diversity as a key of success to the American story, and chooses to start his political career as a congress member reminding America of one of its successive elements, accepting diversity. What is really interesting is that Rep. Ellison used Qur'an copy that once belonged to none other than President Thomas Jefferson, the USA's thrid president. Rep. Ellison used this copy to remind Americans of how understanding their profounders once were toward diversity.
Here a link for more information: : www.asiantribune.com/index.php?q=node/3995
