The real problem is that some of our leaders expect, and say that they are, informed by their "faith" on political matters rather than reason including the President. Religion has nothing to do with being a Congressman, President, whatever. Religion is a personal matter that would be best kept private. Since the US was founded to be a secular nation we should strive to reclaim that, i.e., the separation of religion from politics. There would be no squabble about which book to use for swearing in, and so on to important matters. This question should never have become an issue. Previous METAXY entries for context ...Ellison says faith won't be exploited
Detroit Free Press
December 27, 2006
by Niraj Warikoo
DETROIT - "The first Muslim elected to Congress told a group of metro Detroiters on Wednesday that he will use Islam to guide his politics, but he said he won't impose his faith on others.
"I'm not a religious leader, I've never led religious services of any kind," Keith Ellison said. "I'm not here to be a preacher, but in terms of political agenda items, my faith informs me."
"Ellison, a Minnesota Democrat who grew up in Detroit, has faced a lot of scrutiny since his election in November.
"He has come under fire for saying he would use the Quran, Islam's holy book, for his swearing-in ceremony Jan. 4. U.S. Rep. Virgil Goode, R-Va., has said the election of Ellison, and possibly other Muslims, poses a danger to America. [All religion poses a danger to America, apparently.]
"And Ellison was criticized this week for his appearance Sunday in Dearborn, Mich., at the annual convention of the Muslim American Society.
"On Wednesday, he spoke at Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in Detroit with Arab-American, Muslim, Catholic and labor leaders at a meeting sponsored by Metropolitan Organizing Strategy Enabling Strength, or MOSES, a faith-based group in Detroit.
"Ellison said he gets about 300 to 400 e-mails every few days regarding the Quran issue, but he said he will not change his mind.
"I'm a little incredulous about why anyone would care about what I'm going to swear on," he said. "In fact, if I swore on a book that wasn't of my tradition ... would you trust me?"
"The controversy, Ellison said, "seems to resonate with some people. People feel extremely threatened by it."
"Ellison added that religion should be something that unites, rather than divide people.
"Many people see their religion as an identity thing, much in the same way Crips or Bloods might say, `I'm this, this is the set I'm rolling with,'" Ellison said, referring to the infamous street gangs.
"They've never actually tried to explore how religion should connect us, they're into how religion divides us. ... They haven't really explored ... how my faith connects me to you." [Religion can never be anything but divisive even within a religion, never mind between religions.]
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