Tomorrow, this country’s first Muslim congressman will be sworn into office, using a Quran. But not just any Quran:
Rep.-elect Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress, will use a Quran once owned by Thomas Jefferson during his ceremonial swearing-in Thursday.
The chief of the Library of Congress’ rare book and special collections division, Mark Dimunation, will walk the Quran across the street to the Capitol and then walk it back after the ceremony.
Some critics have argued that only a Bible should be used for the swearing-in. Last month, Virginia Rep. Virgil Goode, R-Va., warned that unless immigration is tightened, “many more Muslims” will be elected and follow Ellison’s lead. Ellison was born in Detroit and converted to Islam in college.
It’s really unfortunate that so many people believe the falsehood that the US was founded as Christian country. Sure, many of the founding fathers identified themselves as Christians, but others, like Jefferson, would hardly be called such a thing today, after committing blasphemy like this:
The Jefferson Bible, or The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth as it is formally titled, was an attempt by Thomas Jefferson to glean the teachings of Jesus from the Christian Gospels. Jefferson wished to extract the doctrine of Jesus by removing sections of the New Testament containing supernatural aspects as well as perceived misinterpretations he believed had been added by the Four Evangelists.
But whether or not the Founding Fathers were truly Christians matters very little. What does matter is what our Constitution says about religion: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. Really, shouldn’t this be the end of the story?