Muslim Article

The New York Times word example Criticizes Election of Muslim (Swarns 2006) reported on the criticism made by Virginias republican congressman Virgil H. Goode Jr. on the recent election of Minnesota Representative Keith Ellison. harmonize to Rep. Goode Jr., the election of Keith, a democrat and the first-ever Muslim to sit in the fall in States relation, is a grave threat to traditional American values. Goodes warning, contained in a letter addressed to his Virginia constituents dated Dec. 5, 2006, asked Americans to wake up or flavour the likelihood of more Muslim elected officials that would demand make use of of the volume.He also called for the adoption of stringent immigration policies as a shout towards the preservation some(prenominal) of this countrys beliefs and values and resources. Ellison, a former criminal lawyer and a convert to Islam, has aforethought(ip) to use the Muslim bible in January during his private swearing-in. Goodes comments elicited criticisms o f bigotry and intolerance from some democrats in Congress and from Muslim Americans as they pointed out that the official swearing in of officials, in contrast to private swearing in, do non use sacred texts. For his part, Ellison pointed out that he is no immigrant, aspect that hes an African-American whose roots goes blanket to 1742. He also verbalise he is a politician and not a religious scholar such that Goode has nothing to fear.This article of the New York Times gave a rather fair coverage as it observed the journalistic standard of presenting both sides of an subject field. The article gave space to both Goodes and Ellisons statements and counter-statements, attempting to do so from an objective viewpoint. As for the issue of Islam or cosmos Muslim depicted by the story itself, there ar seemingly two conflicting sides, two opposing viewpoints. The side of Rep. Goode adopts the position that Islam in the country, or at least the practices of Islam (as the use of ru le book, sort of of the Christian account book in swearing-in), poses a considerable threat to traditional American culture. He even insinuated that Muslims, along with other immigrants, are a burden to the join States. On the other, the coverage of Ellison and his sympathizers show that Muslim Americans, who could be good citizens, are welcome in this country.U.S. Congressman Criticizes Election of Muslim By RACHEL L. SWARNSPublished declination 21, 2006WASHINGTON, Dec. 20 In a letter sent to hundreds of voters this month, Representative Virgil H. Goode Jr., Republican of Virginia, warned that the recent election of the first Muslim to Congress posed a serious threat to the nations traditional values.Skip to next paragraphRepresentative Virgil H. Goode Jr., left, say Keith Ellisons decision to use a Koran in a private swearing in for the House of Representatives was a mis befool.Mr. Goode was referring to Keith Ellison, the Minnesota Democrat and criminal defense lawyer who converted to Islam as a college educatee and was elected to the House in November. Mr. Ellisons plan to use the Koran during his private swearing-in ceremony in January had outraged some Virginia voters, prompting Mr. Goode to issue a written response to them, a spokesman for Mr. Goode said.In his letter, which was dated Dec. 5, Mr. Goode said that Americans necessary to wake up or else there would likely be numerous more Muslims elected to office and demanding the use of the Koran.I fear that in the next century we will have m any(prenominal) more Muslims in the fall in States if we do not adopt the strict immigration policies that I believe are necessary to preserve the values and beliefs traditional to the United States of America and to prevent our resources from being swamped, said Mr. Goode, who vowed to use the watchword when winning his own oath of office.Mr. Goode declined Wednesday to comment on his letter, which quickly stirred a furor among some Congressional Democ rats and Muslim Americans, who accused him of bigotry and intolerance.They far-famed that the Constitution specifically bars any religious screening of members of Congress and that the actual swearing in of those lawmakers occurs without any religious texts. The use of the Bible or Koran occurs only in private ceremonial events that take place after lawmakers have officially sworn to uphold the Constitution.Mr. Ellison pink-slipped Mr. Goodes comments, saying they seemed ill informed about his personal origins as well as about Constitutional protections of religious freedom. Im not an immigrant, added Mr. Ellison, who traces his American ancestors back to 1742. Im an African-American.Since the November election, Mr. Ellison said, he has receive hostile phone calls and e-mail messages along with some death threats. scarcely in an interview on Wednesday, he emphasized that members of Congress and cut-and-dried citizens had been overwhelmingly supportive and said he was focusing o n desktop up his Congressional office, acquiring phone lines hooked up and mental faculty members hired, not on negative comments.Im not a religious scholar, Im a politician, and I do what politicians do, which is hopefully pass legislation to help the nation, said Mr. Ellison, who said he planned to focus on secular issues like increasing the federal nominal wage and getting health insurance for the uninsured.Im face forward to making friends with Representative Goode, or at least getting to know him, Mr. Ellison said, speaking by telephone from Minneapolis. I want to let him know that theres nothing to fear. The fact that there are many distinct faiths, many different colors and many different cultures in America is a great strength.In Washington, Brendan Daly, a spokesman for the influent House speaker, Nancy Pelosi of California, called Mr. Goodes letter offensive. Corey Saylor, legislative director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, criticized what he describe d as Mr. Goodes message of intolerance.Representative Bill Pascrell Jr., Democrat of New Jersey, urged Mr. Goode to reach out to Muslims in Virginia and learn to dispel misconceptions instead of promoting them.Keith Ellison serves as a great example of Muslim Americans in our nation, and he does not have to answer to you, to me or anyone else in regards to questions about his faith, said Mr. Pascrell, whose district includes many Arab-Americans.The fracas over Mr. Ellisons decision to use the Koran during his personal swearing-in ceremony began last month when Dennis Prager, a fusty columnist and radio host, condemned the decision as one that would undermine American civilization.Ellisons doing so will embolden Islamic extremists and make new-made ones, as Islamists, rightly or wrongly, see the first sign of the credit of their greatest goal the Islamicization of America, said Mr. Prager, who said the Bible was the only germane(predicate) religious text in the United States.If you are incapable of taking an oath on that book, dont serve in Congress, Mr. Prager said.In his letter, Mr. Goode echoed that view, saying that he did not subscribe to using the Koran in any way. He also called for ending il good immigration and reducing legal immigration.Linwood Duncan, a spokesman for Mr. Goode, said the Virginia lawmaker had no intention of backing down, scorn the furor.He stands by the letter, Mr. Duncan said. He has no intention of apologizing.