Posted: 01/21/07

(Prior to his election to Congress, Ellison had been a Democrat state legislator in Minnesota, where he established a liberal voting record. Of his Muslim faith, Ellison explains: "I was raised Catholic and later became a Muslim while attending Wayne State University. I am inspired by the Quran's message of an encompassing divine love, and a deep faith guides my life every day." [i])

Muslims saw Ellison's election and swearing-in as a great victory. For example, he recently spoke to a cheering crowd of 3,000 at a national convention of the Muslim American Society and the Islamic Circle of North America. At that event (described as being aimed "at revival and reform"), Ellison admonished his fellow Muslims: "You can't back down. You can't chicken out. You can't be afraid. You got to have faith in Allah, and you've got to stand up and be a real Muslim! . . . On January 4, I will go swear an oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States. I'll place my hand on the Quran!" The crowd responded with enthusiastic applause, cheering "Allahu akbar!" (Allah is great!). [ii]

While Muslims at home and abroad were elated at Ellison's victory, others had quite different reactions. In fact, two prominent critics, representing the feelings of many Americans, became the focus of national news stories following their outspoken denunciation of Ellison's plans to use the Koran. One of those individuals was Jewish syndicated radio host and columnist Dennis Prager. Writing of Ellison's intent to be sworn in on the Koran, Prager declared:

He should not be allowed to do so – not because of any American hostility to the Koran, but because the act undermines American civilization. . . . [I]t is an act of hubris that perfectly exemplifies multiculturalist activism – my culture trumps America's culture. . . . 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. . . . Ellison's [swearing on the Koran] 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. When all elected officials take their oaths of office with their hands on the very same book, they all affirm that some unifying value system underlies American civilization. If Keith Ellison is allowed to change that, he will be doing more damage to the unity of America and to the value system that has formed this country than the terrorists of 9-11. [iii]

A second individual who became a national news story was Congressman Virgil Goode of Virginia. Like most other Members of Congress, numerous constituents contacted him, expressing their opposition to Ellison's plan to be sworn in on the Koran. Goode's blunt candidness about the issue became the object of national news coverage. He told constituents:

Thank you for your recent communication. When I raise my hand to take the oath on Swearing-In Day, I will have the Bible in my other hand. I do not subscribe to using the Koran in any way. The Muslim Representative from Minnesota was elected by the voters of that district and if American citizens don't wake up and adopt the Virgil Goode position on immigration there will likely be many more Muslims elected to office and demanding the use of the Koran. We need to stop illegal immigration totally and reduce legal immigration and end the diversity visas policy pushed hard by President Clinton and allowing many persons from the Middle East to come to this country. 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 believe are necessary to preserve the values and beliefs traditional to the United States of America and to prevent our resources from being swamped. The Ten Commandments and "In God We Trust" are on the wall in my office. A Muslim student came by the office and asked why I did not have anything on my wall about the Koran. My response was clear, "As long as I have the honor of representing the citizens of the 5th District of Virginia in the United States House of Representatives, The Koran is not going to be on the wall of my office." Thank you again for your email and thoughts.

Sincerely yours,

Virgil H. Goode, Jr.

The media reaction to these two leaders and their outspoken criticism of Ellison's plan included epithets such as "racist," "bigoted," "homophobic," "Islamophobic," "sexist," "xenophobic," "fascist," etc. [iv]

There clearly has been no lack of emotive language surrounding the swearing in of Rep. Keith Ellison. Significantly, however, there is an historical backdrop to this controversy, with many salient elements in American history that are largely unknown today. This piece will present some of the forgotten history surrounding a Muslim serving in Congress.

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Is Keith Ellison actually the first Muslim to serve in the U. S. Congress? According to the national media, the answer is a resounding "Yes!" For example, among the numerous print media stories, the Washington Post proclaimed: "Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress," [v] and the Associated Press (Pakistan) similarly announced, "Keith Ellison, a 43-year old lawyer from Minnesota, became the first Muslim member of the US Congress." [vi] Among broadcast media, MSNBC pronounced him "the first Muslim elected to Congress," [vii] and CNN reported that, "In a political first, a Muslim has been elected to serve in the U. S. Congress." [viii]

However, as is often the case with the mainstream media, they were wrong: Keith Ellison is not the first Muslim Member of Congress; a Muslim served in Congress during the Founding Era.

There were numerous Muslims living in America at the time of the American Founding. Islam had been introduced into America during the early 1600s with the entrance of slavery. It is estimated that ten percent of slaves were Muslim, [ix] many of whom became free and lived in America but retained their Islamic faith. There were therefore early Muslim communities in South Carolina and Florida; [x] and there were enough Muslims that by 1806 the first Koran was published and sold in America. [xi]

The first Muslim Member of Congress was John Randolph of Virginia, [xii] who served in Congress from 1799-1834. Significantly, Francis Scott Key, author of the "Star Spangled Banner," befriended Randolph and faithfully shared Christ with him. Randolph eventually converted from Islam to Christianity [xiii] and became a strong personal advocate for his newfound faith. [xiv] (Key also shared Christianity with other Muslims, and even bought them copies of the Christian Bible printed in Arabic. [xv])

Interestingly, during the Founding Era, like today, there was great concern over the possibility of a Muslim being elected to Congress. That concern was heightened by the fact that at that time, like now, America was involved in a war on terror against Islamic terrorists. That war, called the Barbary Powers War, lasted thirty-two years, involved six years of active overseas warfare against Muslim terrorists, and spanned four U. S. presidencies: those of George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison. [xvi]

Since few today have ever heard of that war, a brief review will provide useful background in addressing the issue of a Muslim being sworn into Congress.

By David Barton Click here for bio and archived articles