'Muslim Article\r'

'The New York time word â€Å" congresswoman Criticizes alternative of Moslem” (Swarns 2006) reported on the criticism made by Virginias republican recountingman Virgil H. Goode Jr. on the recent election of atomic number 25 Representative Keith Ellison. According to Rep. Goode Jr., the election of Keith, a populist and the first-ever Moslem to sit in the coupled States Congress, is a grave threat to conventional American value. Goodes warning, contained in a letter addressed to his Virginia constituents dated Dec. 5, 2006, asked Americans to â€Å" conjure up” or face the likelihood of to a greater extent Muslim elected officials that would demand â€Å" exercise of the record”.He also called for the adoption of stringent immigration policies as a step towards the preservation both of this countrys beliefs and values and resources. Ellison, a former criminal lawyer and a convert to Islam, has syllabusned to use the Muslim al-Quran in January during h is private swearing-in. Goodes comments elicited criticisms of bigotry and credulity 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 religious texts. For his part, Ellison pointed out that he is no immigrant, look that hes an African-American whose roots goes â€Å"back to 1742”. He also verbalise he is a politician and non a religious scholar such that Goode has â€Å"nothing to fear”.This clause of the New York Times gave a rather fair coverage as it observed the journalistic standard of presenting both sides of an issue. The article gave space to both Goodes and Ellisons statements and counter-statements, attempting to do so from an object glass viewpoint. As for the issue of Islam or being Muslim depicted by the story itself, thither ar obviously two conflicting sides, two fence viewpoints. The side of Rep. Goode adopts the position that Islam in the country, or at to the lowest degree the practices of Islam (as the use of ledger, sort of of the Christian password in swearing-in), poses a considerable threat to conventional American culture. He even insinuated that Muslims, on with former(a) immigrants, atomic number 18 a burden to the United States. On the other, the coverage of Ellison and his sympathizers show that Muslim Americans, who could be sizable citizens, are welcome in this country.\r\nU.S. Congressman Criticizes Election of Muslim By RACHEL L. SWARNSPublished: December 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 domain’s traditional values.Skip to next paragraphRepresentative Virgil H. Goode Jr., left, utter Keith Ellison’s ratiocination to use a Koran in a private swearing in for t he provide of Representatives was a mistake.Mr. Goode was referring to Keith Ellison, the Minnesota Democrat and criminal defense mechanism lawyer who converted to Islam as a college disciple and was elected to the habitation in November. Mr. Ellison’s 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 needed to â€Å"wake up” or else there would â€Å"likely be umteen more Muslims elected to office and demanding the use of the Koran.”â€Å"I fear that in the next century we will have many more Muslims in the United States if we do not adopt the strict immigration policies that I conceive 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 Bible when taking his own profanity of office.Mr. Goode declined Wednesday to comment on his letter, which quickly stirred a furor among some Congressional Democrats and Muslim Americans, who criminate him of bigotry and intolerance.They noted that the Constitution specifically parallel bars any religious screening of members of Congress and that the essential swearing in of those lawmakers occurs without any religious texts. The use of the Bible or Koran occurs barely in private ceremonial events that take place afterward lawmakers have officially sworn to uphold the Constitution.Mr. Ellison dismiss Mr. Goode’s comments, saying they seemed ill informed slightly his personal origins as well as closely Constitutional protections of religious freedom. â€Å"I’m not an immigrant,” added Mr. Ellison, who traces his American ancestors back to 1742. â€Å"I’m an African-American.”Since the November election, Mr. Elliso n said, he has received hostile phone calls and e-mail heart and souls along with some death threats. But in an interrogate on Wednesday, he emphasized that members of Congress and prevalent citizens had been overwhelmingly supportive and said he was nidus on setting up his Congressional office, get phone lines hooked up and staff members hired, not on negative comments.â€Å"I’m not a religious scholar, I’m a politician, and I do what politicians do, which is hopefully pass statute to help the nation,” said Mr. Ellison, who said he aforethought(ip) to focus on secular issues like change magnitude the federal minimum wage and getting wellness insurance for the uninsured.â€Å"I’m looking beforehand to making friends with Representative Goode, or at least getting to know him,” Mr. Ellison said, speaking by echo from Minneapolis. â€Å"I want to let him know that there’s nothing to fear. The fact that there are many different faiths , many different colorize and many different cultures in America is a great strength.”In Washington, Brendan Daly, a spokesman for the incoming House speaker, Nancy Pelosi of California, called Mr. Goode’s letter â€Å"offensive.” Corey Saylor, legislative director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, criticized what he described as Mr. Goode’s â€Å"message of intolerance.”Representative Bill Pascrell Jr., Democrat of New Jersey, urged Mr. Goode to devil out to Muslims in Virginia and learn â€Å"to dispel misconceptions instead of promoting them.”â€Å"Keith Ellison serves as a great example of Muslim Americans in our nation, and he does not have to adjudicate to you, to me or anyone else in regards to questions about his faith,” said Mr. Pascrell, whose regulate includes many Arab-Americans.The fracas over Mr. Ellison’s decision to use the Koran during his personal swearing-in ceremony began coda month when Den nis Prager, a conservative columnist and receiving set host, condemned the decision as one that would undermine American civilization.â€Å"Ellison’s doing so will embolden Islamic extremists and make new ones, as Islamists, rightly or wrongly, see the first sign of the realization of their great goal †the Islamicization of America,” said Mr. Prager, who said the Bible was the only relevant religious text in the United States.â€Å"If you are incapable of taking an oath on that book, don’t serve in Congress,” Mr. Prager said.In his letter, Mr. Goode echoed that view, saying that he did not â€Å"subscribe to using the Koran in any way.” He also called for coating illegal immigration and reducing legal immigration.Linwood Duncan, a spokesman for Mr. Goode, said the Virginia lawmaker had no intention of substitute down, despite the furor.â€Å"He stands by the letter,” Mr. Duncan said. â€Å"He has no intention of apologizing.” \r\n'