On Keith Ellison, the First Muslim—and My–Congressman in the US

Reading Jane’s post on the morning of March 21, 2008  about the religious beliefs of candidates made me think about how my own Congressman, Keith Ellison, had to deal with religious controversy in his past and how he has been able to overcome it. (Religion and politics in general, and the religious beliefs of candidates running for president in 2008 in particular, seem to be standard fare in the political realm and the media these days.)

While a law student in 1989 and 1990, Ellison wrote several columns as Keith E. Hakim in the student newspaper, the Minnesota Daily. "The first article defended Louis Farrakhan against accusations of anti-Semitism," defended Nation of Islam spokesman Khalid Abdul Muhammad, and spoke in the voice of a Nation of Islam advocate." The second column "called affirmative action a ’sneaky’ form of compensation for slavery, suggesting instead that white Americans pay reparations to blacks."The third suggested the creation of a separate state for black residents.

In 1995, Ellison, writing an editorial as Keith X. Ellison, stated that Farrakhan is not an anti-Semite. The same year, Ellison was identified as a member of the Nation of Islam in the Star Tribune.

In 1997, when Joanne Jackson, executive director of the Minneapolis Initiative Against Racism (MIAR), allegedly said that, "Jews are among the most racist white people", Ellison, using his religious name Mohammed, read a statement supporting her on behalf of the The Minneapolis-St. Paul Study Group of the Nations of Islam: "[We] stand by Ms. Jackson. We stand by the truth contained in the remarks attributed to her, and by her right to express her view without sanction. Here is why we support Ms. Jackson: She is correct about Minister Farrakhan. He is not a racist. He is also not an anti-Semite. This widespread and unfair practice of whites sanctioning blacks for not denouncing Minister Farrakhan represents a racist double standard, and is an impediment to any honest dialogue about race. If black people are to ever possess a collective sense of self-respect and self-determination, they must not genuflect whenever powerful whites make the unreasonable demand to denounce Minister Farrakhan. Minister Farrakhan said he did not like the tension between the black and Jewish communities, and that he was open to dialogue with any groups as long as they did not set any conditions." Ellison later claimed "While some at that meeting justified her comments, I spoke out in favor of increased dialogue between the Jewish and African-American communities."

Questions about Ellison’s involvement with the Nation of Islam arose during his 2006 campaign. After winning the Democratic party nomination in May, he wrote a letter to the local Jewish Community Relations Council where he reportedly "asserted that his involvement with the Nation of Islam had been limited to an 18-month period around the time of the Million Man March in 1995, that he had been unfamiliar with the Nation of Islam’s anti-Semitic views during his involvement with the group, and that he himself had never expressed such views." He also stated that he was never a member of the Nation of Islam, but only worked with it to organize the Minnesota contingent to the Million Man March.

But also in 2006, despite his work with the Nation of Islam, Ellison was backed by the publisher of The American Jewish World, a local Twin Cites newspaper.

“Keith has recognized his past mistakes and renounced his brief association with the Nation of Islam,” wrote Ira Forman, executive director of the National Jewish Democratic Council, in a press statement released September 21. “It is only the GOP attack machine who seems intent on not moving on.”

The release — issued in response to recent criticism from Ellison’s opponent, Republican Alan Fine, as well as from state GOP party leaders — put the national Jewish group at the forefront of Ellison’s defense.

In spite of what his detractors threw at him, Ellison’s views on the Iraq War, his positions and work in favor of the environment, immigration reform, healthcare, children, and the poor seem to resonate with his ethnically diverse constituents in Minneapolis, many of whom rallied to vote for him. In 2006, he won the DFL (Democratic-Farmer-Labor) (DFL) primary with 41 percent of the vote, and then won in the general with 56 percent of the vote against Republican candidate Alan Fine and others, becoming the first Muslim–and also the first African-American from Minnesota–to be elected to US Congress. His term began in the midst of a great controversy over his religion. He was finger pointed and attacked by extreme right even before taking oath.

On November 14, 2006, Glenn Beck of CNN Headline News asked Ellison to, "prove to me that you are not working with our enemies," saying, "And I know you’re not. I’m not accusing you of being an enemy, but that’s the way I feel, and I think a lot of Americans will feel that way." Ellison replied that his constituents, "know that I have a deep love and affection for my country. There’s no one who’s more patriotic than I am, and so you know, I don’t need to — need to prove my patriotic stripes."

And controversy over Ellison’s religion reached national news when conservative columnist Dennis Prager wrote a column criticizing him because Ellison stated an intent to use the Quran instead of a Bible at his photo-op reenactment of the swearing in ceremony (the official ceremony is done en masse without any books). Fifth-term Rep. Virgil Goode (R-VA), responding to "scores and hundreds of emails"from his constituents after the Prager articles, has also stated his view that Ellison’s decision to use the Quran is a threat to "the values and beliefs traditional to the United States of America".He also wrote, "…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."

CNN reported that on the opening day of Congress, Ellison met Goode on the House floor to shake hands and Goode accepted an offer to talk over coffee.

That same day, during his oath reenactment, Ellison used a two volume Quran published in London in 1764 that was once owned by Thomas Jefferson and loaned to Ellison by "the rare book and special collections division at the Library of Congress".

On January 11, 2008, La Prensa de Minnesota, the primary (and prominent) Hispanic newspaper in Minnesota, named Congressman Keith Ellison of Minnesota’s Fifth Congressional District “La Prensa de Minnesota Person of the Year for 2007, an award aimed to highlight the accomplishments and the impact of one person in favor of the Twin Cities communities as a whole.The newspaper cited his work, during 2007, in favor of the environment, immigration reform, healthcare, the poor and the Liberian community for giving Keith Ellison this award.

Congressman Ellison is running for re-election to Congress from Minnesota’s Fifth Congressional District, which comprises all of Minneapolis, and which, since 1963, has easily been the bluest and most ethnically diverse district in the whole state of Minnesota, especially with the large number of US citizens who are Somali refugees—supposedly the largest outside Mogadishu. Given his accomplishments, my neighbors and fellow Fifth District constituents should be so lucky to re-elect him as their representative.

Related posts:

1. Keith Ellison: “I Will Not Vote for Any Healthcare That Does Not Include a Public Option”
2. Ellison To Vote No On Supplemental: We Have 35 of 39 Votes Needed
3. FDL Movie Night: New Muslim Cool
4. Louisiana Justice of the Peace Keith Bardwell Tries to Justify His Racism
5. Frank Gaffney’s Cowardly Backtrack: It Doesn’t Matter if Obama’s a Muslim, Even Though I Just Methodically Detailed Exactly Why He Probably Is