Keith Ellison, D-Minn., the first Muslim elected to the United States Congress, has announced that he will not take his oath of office on the Bible, but on the bible of Islam, the Koran.
He should not be allowed to do so -- not because of any American hostility to the Koran, but because the act undermines American civilization.
Can Prager get more hysterical than that?
Yes.
First, it is an act of hubris that perfectly exemplifies multiculturalist activism -- my culture trumps America's culture. What Ellison and his Muslim and leftist supporters are saying is that it is of no consequence what America holds as its holiest book; all that matters is what any individual holds to be his holiest book.
Forgive me, but America should not give a hoot what Keith Ellison's favorite book is. Insofar as a member of Congress taking an oath to serve America and uphold its values is concerned, America is interested in only one book, the Bible. If you are incapable of taking an oath on that book, don't serve in Congress. In your personal life, we will fight for your right to prefer any other book. We will even fight for your right to publish cartoons mocking our Bible. But, Mr. Ellison, America, not you, decides on what book its public servants take their oath.
Wrong. The American constitution is the decider, Mr Prager:
The Constitution specifies in Article VI, clause 3:
"The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the members of the several state legislatures, and all executive and judicial officers, both of the United States and of the several states, shall be bound by oath or affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States."
Prager doesn't stop at that point, of course:
...these naive people do not appreciate that America will not change the attitude of a single American-hating Muslim by allowing Ellison to substitute the Koran for the Bible. In fact, the opposite is more likely: 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 greatest goal -- the Islamicization of America.
I'm sorry, but what planet do bigots like Prager live on? One guy wants be sworn in using the Koran, which he is legally entitled to do because of that pesky 'religious freedom' thing (and it would be blasphemous for him to substitute the Bible), but blowhards like that see that as an Islamic takeover of America? People like Prager, and there are far too many of them, (just check out the American right-wing bloggers who agree with him) are so absolutely flipping paranoid that one symbolic gesture such as this makes them scream at the top of their lungs that America is doomed! Doomed, I tell ya!. Do they have so little faith in their own nation that they think such a small thing could actually cause a revolution? Are they so small-minded that they actually believe that Christians are the only true patriots? Are they so offended by their own constitution, which they love when it comes to defending other issues like gun rights, that they think only parts of it are applicable to all Americans? Are they so weak that they fear the decision of one man (and there have been 4 presidents in US history who were not sworn in with a Bible either) that they actually think this is the beginning of the end of America? Just how insecure do you have to be to feel that this is a threat?
Prager owes Muslims, and in particular this elected congressperson, an apology.
See also: Taylor Marsh's commentary at The Huffington Post.
No comments:
Post a Comment