And even Thomas Jefferson...

What would Thomas Jefferson say about the current state of the country? What would he say about our laws, our policies, our viewpoints? Is this country what he and the other Fathers saw as the future of their budding democracy? If not, can we still reach their high expectations?

What would Thomas Jefferson say about Keith Ellison, the first Muslim to ever be elected to Congress? Jefferson was a strong proponent of religious freedom, being well-read in whatever beliefs he could and helping shape the Government into a tolerant one. He would surely be overjoyed, or at least indifferent to the idea. For someone to overcome the sterotypes of their religion and to succeed in the political spectrum regardless of their party and position would be seen as remarkable by him, especially in times such as these.

But wait, there's a catch. Representatives take the office collectively, and without fluff. However, they also take seperate oaths of office with the Speaker of the House. This is mainly a photo-op. He goes up to Nancy Pelosi, she swears him in with hand on the Bible, and the photographers go nuts.

But Keith wanted something different. Instead of taking his photo-op oath on the "traditional" Bible, he announced that he will be sworn in on the Qur'an.

And the loonies in Washington went ape-shit. They attacked him left and right for wanting to do so, the head chicken in the pack being Virginia Rep. Virgil Goode, who called Ellison's humble request "a threat to American values." This is nothing but pure bigotry on Goode's part.

But what is Keithy to do? Admit defeat and praise Jesus? Hallelujah! Lawd Amighty! He wasn't willing to do that. He defend his request as anyone would, but the attack from the Right was unrelenting. They claimed that the Bible is the main base of American Law, and as such, no matter what Ellison's religion, he should show his respect for the book, and that is partly true. The Bible did have a crucial role in the shaping of this country, and most of the Founders were religious (Deists, but religious), Jefferson among them. But should that mean that Ellison is wrong?

Keith was not going to back down, and he had a plan, a plan that is one of the most politically-savvy moves I have seen in a long time. After a month of waiting, Mr. Ellison made an announcement: yes, he will still be sworn in on the Qur'an, but the specific Qur'an he will be sworn in on will be one owned by—you guessed it—Thomas Jefferson.

"He wanted to use a Koran that was special," said Mark Dimunation, chief of the rare book and special collections division at the Library of Congress, who was contacted by the Minnesota Dem early in December. Dimunation, who grew up in Ellison's 5th District, was happy to help.

Jefferson's copy is an English translation by George Sale published in the 1750s; it survived the 1851 fire that destroyed most of Jefferson's collection and has his customary initialing on the pages. This isn't the first historic book used for swearing-in ceremonies -- the Library has allowed VIlPs to use rare Bibles for inaugurations and other special occasions. (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/03/AR2007010300075.htm)

Eat that, bigots. That is a very smart move, a VERY smart move, and I applaud him for having the intelligence to come up with it. The justification of this move was stated eloquently by Ellison spokesman Rick Jauert: "Keith is paying respect not only to the founding fathers' belief in religious freedom but the Constitution itself."

How will Virgil Goode react to that? Who can say? Who cares? It'll all be over in 10 seconds, and we'll all move on, though some will take longer than others.

-Josh