Qur'an Oath Controversy of The 110th United States Congress

Qur'an Oath Controversy Of The 110th United States Congress

In mid-November 2006 it was reported that Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to the United States Congress (for Minnesota's 5th congressional district), "will take his oath of office with his hand upon the Qur'an, the Islamic holy book." In reaction to the news, conservative media pundit Dennis Prager criticized the decision in his November 28, 2006 column entitled "America, not Keith Ellison, decides what book a Congressman takes his oath on."

The column attracted national attention from both Ellison and Prager supporters. Presented with the fact that all members of the House swear in (or affirm) en masse without the use of any religious text, and that such works are only used in ceremonial reenactments afterwards, Prager stated "that’s the whole point: it’s exactly because it’s ceremonial that it matters". In response to a wave of criticism, Prager released another column on the topic on December 5, 2006 entitled "A response to my many critics - and a solution".

The controversy became more heated when Rep. Virgil Goode (R - VA) issued a letter to his constituents stating his view that Ellison's decision to use the Qur'an is a threat to "the values and beliefs traditional to the United States of America... if American citizens don’t wake up and adopt the Virgil Goode position on immigration there will likely be many more Muslims elected to office and demanding the use of the Koran." The entering of Goode into the controversy caused many other members of Congress to weigh in.

Ellison went on to use the Qur'an owned by Thomas Jefferson for the swearing-in ceremony.