International Herald Tribune Editorial - Fear and bigotry

International Herald Tribune Editorial - Fear and bigotry
Copyright by The International Herald Tribune
Published: December 25, 2006


Besides Santa Claus, the Christmas season usually brings some reminder that the worst way to acknowledge the importance of religious faith in America is by demanding that the entire nation follow one particular theology. This year, it's the flap over whether one newly elected member of Congress can use the Koran rather than the Bible next month in a private ceremony.

Keith Ellison, who converted to Islam when he was in college, will be the first Muslim member of the House of Representatives come January. We suspect Ellison's constituents in Minnesota would like to see him using a book that best represents his religious beliefs.

Not so for a radio talk host named Dennis Prager, who claimed that using the Koran would "embolden Islamic extremists." Then Representative Virgil Goode Jr. of Virginia announced that his concerns went beyond the erosion of the Bible's exclusive rights to be sworn on. Goode is bothered by Ellison's faith in general, and wrote a letter to his constituents saying that this was a wake-up call about the danger that there would be "many more Muslims elected to office and demanding the use of the Koran" unless immigration laws were tightened.

Ellison, who traces his ancestors in the United States to 1742, has behaved with extreme grace throughout the incident. As for Prager and Goode, we appreciate their help in demonstrating how very fast things can get both nutty and unpleasant once the founding fathers' wise decision to avoid institutionalizing any religious faith gets breached.