America, Not Keith Ellison, decides what book a congressman takes his oath onBy Dennis Prager
[C~B~N's comments enclosed]
Keith Ellison, D-Minn., the first Muslim elected to the United States Congress, has announced that he will not take his oath of office on the Bible, but on the bible of Islam, the Koran. He should not be allowed to do so -- not because of any American
hostility to the Koran, but
because the act undermines American civilization. First,
it is an act of hubris that
perfectly exemplifies multiculturalist
activism -- my culture trumps America's
culture.
What Ellison and his Muslim and leftist supporters are saying is that it is of no consequence what America holds as its holiest book; all that matters is what any individual holds to be his holiest book.Forgive me, but America should not
give a hoot what Keith Ellison's favorite
book is. Insofar as a member of Congress
taking an oath to serve America and
uphold its values is concerned, America
is interested in only one book, the Bible.
If you are incapable of taking an oath on that book, don't serve in Congress. In
your personal life, we will fight for your
right to prefer any other book. We will
even fight for your right to publish cartoons
mocking our Bible. But, Mr. Ellison, America,
not you, decides on what book its public
servants take their oath.
Devotees of multiculturalism and political correctness who do not see how damaging to the fabric of American civilization it is to allow Ellison to choose his own book need only imagine a racist elected to Congress. Would they allow him to choose Hitler's
"Mein Kampf," the Nazis' bible, for his
oath? And if not, why not?
On what grounds will those defending Ellison's right to choose his favorite book deny that same right to a racist who is elected to public office? Of course, Ellison's defenders argue that
Ellison is merely being honest; since he
believes in the Koran and not in the Bible,
he should be allowed, even encouraged,
to put his hand on the book he believes in.
But for all of American history, Jews elected to public office have taken their oath on the Bible, even though they do not believe in the
New Testament, and the many secular elected
officials have not believed in the Old
Testament either.
Yet those
secular officials did not demand
to
take their oaths of office on, say,
the collected works of Voltaire or on a
volume of New York Times editorials,
writings far more significant to some
liberal members of Congress than
the Bible.Nor has one
Mormon official demanded
to put his hand on the Book of Mormon.
And it is hard to imagine a
scientologistbeing allowed to take his oath of office
on a copy of "Dianetics" by L. Ron Hubbard.
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. [Placating the enemy in hopes
of stopping him? Not likely....]
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 extremistsand 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. [AMEN. America is a CHRISTIAN nation. Founded by Christians on Biblical principals.]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.
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