Goode urged to retract


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	American Muslim Voice


	www.amperspective.com Online Magazine


	Executive Editor: Abdus Sattar Ghazali

AMP Report – December 23, 2006

Congressman Goode urged to publicly retract
his racist remarks on Muslims and immigrants

There was a sharp reaction to Virginia Congressman Virgil Goode’s letter sent to his constituent in which he expressed his opposition to using the Quran during an unofficial and optional swearing-in ceremony for the nation's first elected Muslim congressman, Member-Elect Keith Ellison of Minnesota. Goode also expressed his, "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 Anti-Discrimination Committee said this type of racist and Islamophobic remarks have no place in our diverse democratic nation, said In a letter to Congressman Goode, the ADC called upon the congressman to immediately, and publicly, retract his racist and ignorant remarks regarding Congressman Ellison, Muslim-Americans and immigrants. And in a letter from Goode's congressional colleague, New Jersey Congressman Bill Pascrell, stated his disappointment and alarm at Goode's ethnically offensive remarks.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations condemned Goode's remarks and called on him to apologize. "Congressman Goode's ignorant and divisive statements are an affront to Muslims in his district and to Americans of all faiths who believe in our nation's longstanding traditions of religious tolerance and diversity," said Nihad Awad, executive director of the council.

The Muslim Public Affairs Council called on Americans of all walks of life to contact Virginia Congressman Virgil Goode to demand that he retract and apologize for his intolerant and hateful comments about Muslims and immigrants found in a recent letter to constituents. In the letter, Goode opposes using the Quran during an unofficial and optional swearing-in ceremony for the nation's first elected Muslim congressman, Keith Ellison (D-MN).

Congressman Michael M. Honda, (Democrat from CA) in a letter to Goode said “I was surprised and offended to hear about a constituent letter “you wrote in response to Representative-elect Keith Ellison’s intention to use a Koran during his ceremonial swearing in ceremony……Instead of fearing our diversity, Americans, and Members of Congress in particular, must embrace it. America became a great nation through the collaboration of Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, and other religious and ethnic groups working together to advance our culture and economy. Following in that great American tradition, I would invite you to meet with me to discuss these issues in greater depth. America’s strength lies in its diversity, and together we can stand as a symbol of that strength.”

Congressman Bill Pascrell, (Democrat from New Jersey) in a letter to Goode said the United States Constitution is clear on this issue when its states in Article VI, section 3: "...no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States." Furthermore, as a returning Member of Congress you know that the official swearing-in for new Members of Congress is done without use of any religious text. The use of any text including a Bible, Torah or Koran is done only in a ceremonial event after the Member has already taken an official oath of office. I have had the pleasure to meet Keith Ellison on a number of occasions and it is clear that his integrity and values will make him an outstanding Member of Congress for many years to come. Keith Ellison serves as a great example of Muslim-Americans in our nation and he does not have to answer to you, to me or anyone else in regards to questions about his faith….. Your letter also wrongfully equates the issue of immigration with a fear of Muslim integration in our society. I take your remarks as personally offensive to the large community of Muslim-Americans I represent in the Eighth District of New Jersey.

Bush is urged to act on criticism of muslim

The New York Times reported: White House officials said they were aware that some Democrats and Muslims were urging President Bush to admonish Representative Virgil H. Goode Jr., Republican of Virginia, and Dennis Prager, the conservative commentator, for suggesting that the first Muslim elected to the House had no place in Congress. "We're aware of the situation," said Dana Perino, a spokeswoman for Mr. Bush, "but no judgments have been made." Mr. Goode said the election of Keith Ellison, a Minnesota lawyer who converted to Islam as a college student, posed a threat to American values. Mr. Prager, a presidential appointee to the board that oversees the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, said Mr. Ellison should not serve if he could not swear on a Bible, though he has apologized for those remarks. Mr. Ellison plans to use the Koran during a private swearing-in ceremony next month.

Fear and bigotry in congress

In an editorial entitled, fear and bigotry in congress, the New York Times said: “Besides Santa Claus, the Christmas season usually brings some reminder that the worst way to acknowledge the importance of religious faith in America is by demanding that the entire nation follow one particular theology. Last year it was the war over the nonexistent "war on Christmas." This year, it's the flap over whether one newly elected member of Congress can use the Koran rather than the Bible next month in a private ceremony.

”Keith Ellison, who converted to Islam when he was in college, will be the first Muslim member of the House of Representatives come January. He and his new colleagues will take the oath of office as a group, and then repeat it in private for the benefit of family and friends. It is only in that second ceremony that the Bible comes into play, and to the extent that it has a significance, we suspect Mr. Ellison's constituents in Minnesota would like to see him using a book that best represents his religious beliefs.

”Not so for a radio talk host named Dennis Prager, who claimed that using the Koran would "embolden Islamic extremists." Then Representative Virgil Goode Jr. of Virginia announced that his concerns went beyond the erosion of the Bible's exclusive rights to be sworn on. Mr. Goode is bothered by Mr. Ellison's faith in general, and wrote a letter to his constituents saying that this was a wake-up call about the danger that there would be "many more Muslims elected to office and demanding the use of the Koran" unless immigration laws were tightened….”

National Public Radio reported that Congressman Virgil Goode is standing by a letter he wrote to constituents, warning of an influx of Muslims and Muslim-elected officials if tighter immigration policies aren't put into place.