Gary Boisclair vs Keith Ellison, Another Congressional Campaign Based on Hatred of Muslims

Sheila Musaji

Posted Nov 3, 2011      •Permalink      • Printer-Friendly Version
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Gary Boisclair vs Keith Ellison, Another Congressional Campaign Based on Hatred of Muslims

by Sheila Musaji


Here on TAM we have been writing about religiously based attacks and anti-Muslim campaigns against Rep. Keith Ellison for some time.  A few of those articles are: Lynn Torgerson vs Keith Ellison: A Congressional Campaign Based on Religious HatredCongressman Keith Ellison and the Qur’an; Dennis Prager vs. the First Amendment; AAI Condemns Prejudiced Attacks on Ellison, Asks Congressional Leaders to Come to His Defense.

A few items from those articles deserve repeating

...  Four Presidents were sworn in without using a Bible.  M. Osman Siddique, the first Muslim ambassador in U.S. history, was sworn in on a Koran in 1999, when he became U.S. Ambassador to the Fiji Islands.  Linda Lingle took the oath of office as Gov. of Hawaii on a Torah in 2002.  Madeleine Kunin placed her hand on Jewish prayer books when she was sworn in as the first female governor of Vermont in 1985.  Other Jewish office holders used the Tanakh or prayer books In the Federal Congress Debbie Wasserman Schultz also used a Tanakh, as did Ed Koch (D-NY) who served in the US House from 1969 to 1977.  Likewise, Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) who is now entering his seventeenth term of office, stated “he had never used a [Christian] Bible at his own swearing-in ceremonies.  Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, Arthur Goldberg used the Tanakh.

...  In fact, House members are sworn in en masse in the chamber and no Bible or other religious text is used during the actual swearing in. The ceremony to which Prager refers is an optional individual ceremony that takes place after members have already taken the oath.  Furthermore, some Jewish members of Congress have taken this ceremonial oath on the Torah rather than the Bible, while many do not use any holy book at all.

...  Prager is flat-out wrong when he asserts that Representative Ellison’s use of a Koran would be “damaging to the fabric of American civilization.”  To the contrary, the U.S. Constitution guarantees that, “no religious test shall ever be required” to hold public office in America.  Members of Congress, like all Americans, should be free to observe their own religious practices without government interference or coercion.

It seems that there are some among our elected representatives, and those who want to be elected who have so little going for them, that their only tactic is to continue using hatred as a campaign strategy.  This election cycle Ellison is facing another such individual.

James Warden reports that

Gary Boisclair has made Ellison’s Islamic faith a central part of his campaign. He said it is “ludicrous” to swear an oath to uphold the Constitution on a book that promotes unconstitutional Sharia law.

“The call to violent acts against Christians and Jews within this ‘holy’ book should alarm every American. The fact that a U.S. Congressman swore an oath on a book that calls for most of us to be persecuted is an outrage,” Boisclair wrote in a news release. “We did not pick this fight; Islam’s war against Christianity and human liberty has raged against us for 1,400 years. We are merely responding with the truth.”

The video shows images of a destroyed church in Kirkuk, Iraq; dead Christians in Egypt; and beheaded bodies in Indonesia. It juxtaposes Ellison swearing an oath on the Koran with a presumed terrorist holding a Koran and an assault rifle.

You could have viewed Boisclair’s vicious video ad here, but now when you click on the link it says “This video has been removed as a violation of YouTube’s policy on shocking and disgusting content”.

Boisclair’s website also has a link to the “unveiling” of this first of a series of ads.  He is obviously proud of his hatred as he has made the ad available there with this note:  Gary Boisclair’s First Television Ad: Confronting Congressman Ellison’s dedication to Sharia Law and the Koran. We grant you permission to rip this video and post it in any format or location you choose. Be forewarned: the cowards and hypocrites at Youtube have already pulled this video down.

Boisclair is not only proud of his bigotry, but also as unaware of Constitutional protections, and even of government procedures as was Torgerson.

Pamela Geller, of course, is also upset at Youtube for pulling Boisclair’s anti-Muslim ad.  Geller called it “enforcing Sharia” and she said More sharia (Islamic law): this is enforcement of blasphemy laws, do not insult Islam. How much more of our freedom are we going to allow them to seize?

 

 

SEE ALSO:

A Muslim Response to Dennis Prager’s ‘Five Questions’, Hussam Ayloush http://theamericanmuslim.org/tam.php/features/articles/a_muslim_response_to_dennis_pragers_five_questions/

ADL statement on Prager’s attack on Rep. Ellison http://www.adl.org/presrele/dirab_41/4934_41.htm

ADL 2011 statement Anti-Muslim sentiment significant http://www.adl.org/Civil_Rights/ADL-Backgrounder-on-Muslim-Bigotry.pdf

AAI Condemns Prejudiced Attacks on Ellison, Asks Congressional Leaders to Come to His Defense http://theamericanmuslim.org/tam.php/features/articles/aai_condemns_prejudiced_attacks_on_ellison_asks_congressional_leaders_to_co/

American Muslims must defend the Constitution of the United States, Sheila Musaji http://theamericanmuslim.org/tam.php/features/articles/american_muslims_must_defend_the_constitution_of_the_united_states

CAIR calls on President Bush to rescind the appointment of radio talk show host Dennis Prager to the United States Holocaust Memorial Council http://theamericanmuslim.org/tam.php/features/articles/president_bush_asked_to_rescind_appointment_of_dennis_prager/ 

Ellison and the Qur’an: “a great American story”, James J. Zogby http://www.middleeastwindow.com/?q=ellison

Congressman Keith Ellison and the Qur’an, Sheila Musaji http://theamericanmuslim.org/tam.php/features/articles/congressman_keith_ellison_and_the_quran_1_07/

Fear and Bigotry in Congress http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/23/opinion/23sat3.html?_r=3&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

How Thomas Jefferson read the Quran, Kevin J. Hayes http://www.iviews.com/Articles/articles.asp?ref=IV0701-3221 

I swear…but by what book?, Rabbi Dr. Barry Leff http://theamericanmuslim.org/tam.php/features/articles/i_swearbut_by_what_book/ 

In Letter, GOP Rep Fears Influx of Muslims, Paul Kiel http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/002189.php

Islamophobia from Jefferson to Ellison, Abdul Malik Mujahid http://www.soundvision.com/info/islamophobia/jeffersontoellison.asp

Islamophobia no longer questioned - even by our elected representatives (TAM collection of bigoted statements by elected representatives and candidates)  http://theamericanmuslim.org/tam.php/features/articles/islamophobia_no_longer_even_questioned

Muslims and the Five Questions of Dennis Prager, Juan Cole http://theamericanmuslim.org/tam.php/features/articles/muslims_and_the_five_questions_of_dennis_prager/

Oh Say, Can You Swear on a Koran?,  Eugene Volokh http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=MWRjNjk2NTdmMThlOWFjYmMzNDMwZmZkYmJmZDg3MDM= 

Dennis Prager Has A Funny Definition Of Freedom http://mediamatters.org/blog/201102020035

Prager’s anti-Islamic bigotry is not newsworthy http://majikthise.typepad.com/majikthise_/2006/12/dennis_praegers.html

President Bush Asked to Rescind Appointment of Dennis Prager http://theamericanmuslim.org/tam.php/features/articles/president_bush_asked_to_rescind_appointment_of_dennis_prager/

Presidential appointee says Quran oath ‘undermines American civilization’  http://theamericanmuslim.org/tam.php/features/articles/presidential_appointee_says_quran_oath_undermines_american_civilization/

U.S. Holocaust Museum urged to drop Islam basher, CAIR http://theamericanmuslim.org/tam.php/features/articles/presidential_appointee_says_quran_oath_undermines_american_civilization/

Wikipedia has an extensive list of comments on all sides of this issue http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qur’an_oath_controversy_of_the_110th_United_States_Congress

 

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