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Reports and documents cited above
Fear and Bigotry in Congress
Editorial, New York Times, December 23, 2006
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.
Mr. Ellison, who traces his ancestors in the United States to 1742, has behaved with extreme grace throughout the incident. As for Mr. Prager and Mr. Goode, we appreciate their help in demonstrating how very fast things can get both nutty and unpleasant once the founding fathers’ wise decision to avoid institutionalizing any religious faith gets breached.
Full text of Representative Virgil Goode's Letter
Letter from Rep. Virgil H. Goode, Virginia, 5th District, December 7, 2006
Click here to read the letter expressing anti-Muslim sentiments that Rep. Goode sent to a constituent. It is a PDF document.
Virginia Lawmaker's Remarks on Muslims Criticized
Republican Had Decried the Use of the Koran for Congressman's Oath of Office
By Zachary A. Goldfarb, The Washington Post, December 21, 2006
Rep. Virgil H. Goode Jr. (R-Va.) is coming under sharp criticism for lashing out against the decision by Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), who will become the first Muslim member of Congress next month, to use the Koran during a swearing-in ceremony.
In a recent letter to constituents, Goode, a five-term congressman from Rocky Mount, wrote that he does "not subscribe to using the Koran in any way" and added: "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." Continue.
Islamophobia
Bigotry toward Muslims is growing in the United States
OpEd by Salam Al-Marayati and Safiya Ghori, San Diego Union-Tribune, December 15, 2006
It is a sad day for Muslims in America. I woke up recently to hear radio host Jerry Klein suggesting that all Muslims in the United States should be identified with a crescent-shaped tattoo or a distinctive arm band – and then heard an hour of my fellow Americans agreeing with him. Continue.
 Congressman On Guard Against Muslim Majority in Congress
Susan Jones, CNSNews.com via Crosswalk.com, December 22, 2006
Rep. Virgil Goode, a Virginia Republican, said he's "somewhat surprised" that his comments about Muslims in general -- and incoming Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) in particular -- have caused such a stir.
Goode spoke with Fox News's David Asman on Thursday.
In a letter to a constituent (that later made it onto a blog), Goode wrote, "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 use of the Koran" (to take their oaths). Continue
Islamic Group Has Mastered Victimization Game, Critic Says
Randy Hall, CNSNews.com via Crosswalk.com, December 22, 2006
The Republican lawmaker who sparked a storm with comments about Muslims and the need to tighten immigration laws is the latest target of an Islamic advocacy group's "victimization game," a political analyst said Thursday.
It's a game that the Council of American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), has "mastered," Daniel Pipes, a critic of the group and director of the Middle East Forum, told Cybercast News Service.
CAIR is calling on Rep. Virgil Goode (R-Va.) to apologize for writing in a letter to constituents that says, "we will have many more Muslims in the United States if we do not adopt" strict immigration policies.
Pipes said CAIR was "perpetually on the prowl for any incidence of anti-Muslim sentiment, real or imaginary, spontaneous or provoked, major or minor." Continue
Congressman Goode Has A Right To His Opinion That Islam Is A Threat To U.S.Values And Tradition
Bill Wilson, WDC Media (Daily Jot), December 23, 2006
Virginia Republican Congressman Virgil Goode is in hot water with a few other congressmen and the radical Islamic civil rights group, Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR). In a letter to constituents concerned about the election of Islamic Democratic Congressman Keith Ellison from Minnesota, Goode wrote, "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." Continue
Rep. Robin Hayes says we will win in Iraq by "spreading the message of Jesus Christ" there.
Submitted by LiberalNC to BlueNC blog, December 20, 2006 and brought to our attention by Pam's House Blend
In a speech to a local Rotary Club meeting in his home town of Concord, North Carolina, Representative Robin Hayes (a Republican who won reelection by a handful of votes) assured that the war in Iraq "is being won," then stated: "Stability in Iraq ultimately depends on spreading the message of Jesus Christ, the message of peace on earth, good will towards men. Everything depends on everyone learning about the birth of the Savior." Continue
Tennessee Governor Under Fire for Sending Muslim Christian Card
Focus on the Family, December 20, 2006
Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen is drawing criticism for using a portrayal of a Muslim girl for his annual Christmas card, Fox News reported.
The front of the card shows a painting of a Muslim girl Bredsen met in Afghanistan last March. The back of the card has message from the governor that says while it may seem odd to put a portrait of a Muslim on a Christmas card, the season should serve as a reminder that God loves His children most of all.
Bredesen also said he wished for peace and hope for the woman and her country.
Maury Davis, pastor of Cornerstone Church in Nashville, said the governor's decision to combine Islam and Christianity for a Christmas card could be interpreted as an insult to Christianity.
Bredesen disagreed, saying only that the card speaks for itself. Continue
Where Are the Christians?
By William Fisher, t r u t h o u t, December 27, 2006
It's not rocket science to understand why Republicans have gone into hibernation on the issue of Rep. Virgil Goode's outrageous rant against his fellow Congressman, Keith Ellison - the first Muslim ever elected to either legislative house - who wants to take his oath on the Quran.
After all, Goode is one of their own. He's from the same party that brought us George Allen's "Macaca Moment" and the flirtatious "Call Me" tagline from a cute white blonde in a campaign commercial in the recent senate race against black Rep. Harold Ford. Continue.
Here Are the Christians!
By William Fisher, t r u t h o u t, December 29, 2006
My recent column "Where Are the Christians?" drew a bundle of answers in emails from Truthout readers. That piece was about the bigoted remarks of Rep. Virgil Goode (R-Va.) attacking newly-elected Congressman Keith Ellis, a Muslim, for taking his unofficial oath of office with his hand on the Quran - and mindlessly predicting that this would somehow lead to a vast increase in illegal Muslim immigration (unless, of course, we close our borders).
It might be instructive to quote a couple of the emails I received. Continue.
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From Media Matters for America
Anti-Muslim expressions on major media outlets
Compiled by Media Matters for America
Headline: On MSNBC,
Prager continued to baselessly attack Muslim Rep.-elect
Excerpt: On the December 4 edition of MSNBC's Tucker, conservative
radio host and Townhall.com columnist Dennis Prager continued to accuse
incoming Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) of imperil[ing] America because
of Ellison's reported intention to use a copy of the Quran during the ceremonial
photo op on the day he is sworn in. http://mediamatters.org/items/200612060001
Hannity suggested use of Quran in representative's swearing-in same as using Nazi
bible Mein Kampf
Excerpt: Echoing columnist Dennis Prager, Sean Hannity claimed that
incoming Rep. Keith Ellison's reported intention to use a copy of the Quran
apparently during the ceremonial photo op on the day he is sworn in will
embolden Islamic extremists and make new ones and suggested that using
the Quran for a swearing-in is comparable to using Hitler's Mein Kampf,
which is the Nazi bible. http://mediamatters.org/items/200612010010
Headline: Savage: To save the United States lawmakers should institute outright ban on Muslim immigration and on the construction of mosques http://mediamatters.org/items/200611290005
Excerpt: On the November 27 edition of his nationally syndicated radio show, Michael Savage declared that in order to save the United States lawmakers should institute an outright ban on Muslim immigration into the country. Savage also recommended making the construction of mosques
illegal in America, and the speaking of English only in the streets of the United States the law.
Headline: Good Morning America welcomed talk-radio host Glenn Beck to discuss Islam, didn't mention Beck's history of smears. http://mediamatters.org/items/200611280014
Excerpt: Diane Sawyer hosted Glenn Beck on Good Morning America for a
discussion of Pope Benedict XVI's visit to Turkey and the pope's recent
comments on Islam. Sawyer identified Beck only as a television and
talk-radio host ... who has said it's time for the world to stop buckling to
the pressure of radical Islam. She did not note that Beck is a
self-identified conservative who has a history of making derogatory statements
about Islam and Muslims.
Headline: O'Reilly: Imams kicked off plane wouldn't get handcuffed ... if they started
chanting stuff at Crate & Barrel. http://mediamatters.org/items/200611280008
Excerpt: Bill O'Reilly revived the "war" on Christmas and declared that [m]aybe the imams who got thrown off the plane [would] shop at the home furnishings retailer Crate & Barrel because it has a policy of saying Happy Holidays instead of Merry Christmas. O'Reilly also declared that Christmas is a secular holiday that honors the birth of Jesus. ... And the reason it does is because Jesus was a philosopher, but you can have a religious connotation to the holiday if you choose to.
Headline:Fox News' Doocy: Islam turned violent and proved the pope's point
about Islam and violence. http://mediamatters.org/items/200611280005
Excerpt: On the November 28 edition of Fox News' Fox & Friends,
co-host Steve Doocy asserted that when "Islam turned violent" after
Pope Benedict XVI's controversial comments about the religion, it
"essentially proved the pope's point."
Headline: Carlson claimed he was not defending people who were spooked by
Muslims praying in airport; then defended them. http://mediamatters.org/items/200611270010
Excerpt: Discussing six Muslim men who were removed from an airplane in Minnesota after other passengers saw them praying in the terminal prior to boarding, Tucker Carlson claimed that he was "not defending" the fact that the praying "freaked people out," but then quickly added that they were doing something other people didn't understand, and it spooked
the other people.
Headline: Jon Stewart on Beck's remark to Keith Ellison: Finally, a guy who says what
people who aren't thinking are thinking. http://mediamatters.org/items/200611180006
Excerpt: On the November 16 edition of Comedy Central's The Daily Show, host Jon Stewart addressed a recent remark that CNN Headline News host Glenn Beck made to Rep.-elect Keith Ellison (D-MN), the first Muslim ever elected to Congress.
Headline: Beck characterized letter criticizing Al Qaeda as surprising, because
the man who wrote it is a Muslim. http://mediamatters.org/items/200611160005
Excerpt: On November 15, during his one-hour CNN Headline News special titled Exposed: The Extremist Agenda Glenn Beck described as surprising a letter by Islamic Society of Nevada director Aslam Abdullah criticizing Al Qaeda in Iraq. The reason it is surprising, according
to Beck? Because the man who wrote it is a Muslim.
Headline: CNN's Beck to first-ever Muslim congressman: [W]hat I feel like saying is, 'Sir, prove to me that you are not working with our enemies.' http://mediamatters.org/items/200611150004
Excerpt: On the November 14 edition of his CNN Headline News program, Glenn Beck interviewed Rep.-elect Keith Ellison (D-MN), who became the first Muslim ever elected to Congress on November 7, and asked Ellison if he could have five minutes here where we're just politically incorrect and I play
the cards up on the table. After Ellison agreed, Beck said: I have been nervous about this interview with you, because what I feel like saying is, 'Sir, prove to me that you are not working with our enemies.' Beck added: I'm not accusing you of being an enemy, but that's the way I feel,
and I think a lot of Americans will feel that way.
Headline: O'Reilly: [T]en years ago, nobody [had] even heard of Iraq. http://mediamatters.org/items/200610270004
Excerpt: Despite widespread reports of the Taliban's resurgence in Afghanistan, Bill O'Reilly baselessly claimed that it is a myth that Afghanistan and declared that the Bush administration has won a victory in Afghanistan O'Reilly also asserted that 10 years ago, nobody [had] even heard
of Iraq in fact, the United States led a coalition against in Operation Desert Storm in 1991.
Headline: Boortz:Islam is a deadly virus and we're going to wait far too long to develop a vaccine to find a way to fight this. http://mediamatters.org/items/200610180005
Excerpt: On the October 16 edition of his nationally syndicated radio program, Neal Boortz declared: Islam is a virus. It is a deadly virus that is spreading throughout Europe and the
Western world, adding that we're going to wait far too long to develop a vaccine to find a way to fight this. Later in the broadcast, Boortz, who stated that he would be willing to put money that Spain will be operating under Islamic law within 10 years, predicted that Europe is doomed, and America's going to have a tough time surviving in anything close to its present form after America falls to Islam -- to the Muslim creeping virus. Boortz also characterized Islam as not a
very pleasant religion and a creeping mold infestation. He also said of Muslims: [T]hese people are violent.
Headline: Robertson: Muslims deal with history and the truth with violence. They don't
understand what reasoned dialogue is. http://mediamatters.org/items/200609250007
Excerpt: On the September 25 edition of the Christian Broadcasting Network's The 700 Club, following a report on a summit between Pope Benedict XVI and Muslim envoys to address tensions over controversial remarks the pope recently made about Islam, host Pat Robertson stated that [i]t's amazing how the Muslims deal with history and the truth with violence. They don't
understand what reasoned dialogue is.
Headline: On Scarborough Country, Buchanan said Islam is a fighting faith while
Crusades were launched to take back what we had lost! http://mediamatters.org/items/200609190009
Excerpt: While discussing Pope Benedict XVI's recent controversial comments about Islam, MSNBC political analyst Pat Buchanan declared three times that Islam is a fighting faith. During the discussion, which took place on the September 18 edition of MSNBC's Scarborough Country, host Joe
Scarborough asked: [D]espite the fact ... there are Muslim extremists ... do you not think that this pope should ... reach out to moderate Muslim regimes? Buchanan replied, How do you think Islam came out of Arabia, captured the Holy Land, all of North Africa, occupied all of Spain and Portugal ... except by the sword? When Scarborough pleaded that he did not want to refight the crusades, Buchanan declared Christians fought the Crusades [t]o take back what we had
lost!
Headline: Beck: The Middle East is being overrun by 10th-century barbarians and [i]f they take over ... we're going to have to nuke the whole place. http://mediamatters.org/items/200609130010
Excerpt: On the September 12 edition of his CNN Headline News program,
Glenn Beck said that [t]he Middle East is being overrun by 10th-century barbarians and [i]f they take over... we're going to have to nuke the whole place." Beck said the thought
came to him at 5 o'clock in the morning after hearing of the failed attempt by four armed men to storm the U.S. Embassy in Damascus, Syria.
Headline: Radio host Mark Williams on imams thrown off flight: [T]hese people want us
dead. http://mediamatters.org/items/200612050012
Excerpt: Mark Williams stated the six imams removed from a November 20 US Airways flight are one of two things. ... They are either terrorists or they're trying to cash in on the politically correct lottery, in that the imams could get themselves thrown off the plane, and sue.
Williams added, [T]hese people want us dead. ... I don't want this guy as
my neighbor.
Headline: O'Reilly: Iraq is not [in] a civil war, rather they're all Muslims ... doing
what they do. http://mediamatters.org/items/200612010007
Excerpt: On the November 29 broadcast of his nationally syndicated radio show, Bill O'Reilly denied that Iraq is in a civil war as NBC News wants you to think and asserted that they're all Muslims, and they're doing what they do. They're killing each other. And they're killing Americans. As Media Matters for America has noted, while criticizing NBC's decision to use the phrase civil
war to describe the situation in Iraq,on the November 28 edition of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor, O'Reilly said, [T]he American media is not helping anyone by oversimplifying the
situation and rooting for the USA to lose in Iraq.
Headline: Coulter: [P]rofiling Muslims is more like profiling the Klan.
http://mediamatters.org/items/200612010002
Excerpt: In a November 30 syndicated column about the removal of six imams from an airplane in Minnesota after other passengers saw them praying prior to boarding, right-wing pundit Ann Coulter claimed that racially profiling Muslims is more like profiling the Klan than it is like profiling African-Americans, because of the history of discrimination against blacks in this country. Coulter added: What did we do to the Arabs? I believe Americans are the victims in that relationship.
Headline: Savage: Congressman swearing on Quran represents the tyranny of the psycho,
whacked-out minority. http://mediamatters.org/items/200611300013
Excerpt: On the November 28 edition of his nationally syndicated radio show The Savage Nation, host Michael Savage compared reports that incoming Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) won't swear to uphold the oath of office on the Bible, but on the Quran instead to [a] witch get[ting]
elected and saying she's gonna only be sworn in with her hand over a pentagram. Savage called Ellison's reported decision to be sworn in with a Quran the tyranny of the psycho, whacked-out minority.
Headline: Savage ridiculed Ethiopians, declaring they "have flies around their eyes";
labeled Islam a bloodthirsty religion. http://mediamatters.org/items/200610240020
Excerpt: On the October 23 edition of his nationally syndicated radio show, Michael Savage said of Ethiopians: The people down there have flies around their eyes, adding, I never went into an Ethiopian restaurant. The Ethiopians come here to eat American food. Earlier in the broadcast,
while discussing Ramadan and the continued violence in Iraq, Savage suggested that Islam
is a bloodthirsty religion that's practiced over there by a bunch of
throwbacks, and we're gonna to kill 'em. Savage called for the United States to say: That's it, we're leaving them; we're killing them.
Headline: Beck claimed Europe's political correctness could lead to a global religious civil war. http://mediamatters.org/items/200610240014
Excerpt: Glenn Beck claimed that the forces of radical Islam and political correctness have conspired to slowly gain power and influence in Europe and that the continent is on the precipice of civil war. He further predicted that the United States very well could be next ...
[i]t may only be a matter of time before it happens in Detroit or New York or Chicago. He concluded, We could be on the verge of a global religious civil war.
Headline: Savage:[W]hen you're dealing with Arabs, there are no friends. http://mediamatters.org/items/200610240004
Excerpt: On the October 20 edition of his nationally syndicated radio show, Michael Savage asserted that when you're dealing with Arabs, there are no friends. They're old rug traders going back a thousand years in that part of the world. He then added: Right now, one side is your friend; the other side is your enemy. The next day, they're both stabbing you in the back and picking your pockets.
 On MSNBC, Jacobus thought it "strange" to focus on Rep. Goode's bigoted remarks instead of Muslim Rep.-elect's use of Quran
Media Matters, December 21, 2006
On the December 21 edition of MSNBC News Live, Republican strategist Cheri Jacobus said she thought it was "a little bit strange" that "we're focusing on" controversial remarks by Rep. Virgil Goode (R-VA) instead of Rep.-elect Keith Ellison (D-MN), whom Jacobus called "a newly elected member of Congress trying to cause controversy." As the weblog TPMMuckraker noted, the weblog Waldo Jaquith posted a letter by Goode saying: "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." In the letter, Goode also attacked Ellison: "[I]f 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." Ellison reportedly intends to use a copy of the Quran presumably during the ceremonial photo op on the day he is sworn in. Continue
Blitzer: Ellison [not Goode or Prager] "touched off a raging controversy"
Summary: Wolf Blitzer attributed the "raging controversy" over Rep.-elect Keith Ellison's reported intention to use a copy of the Quran in his swearing-in ceremony to Ellison rather than those who have denounced Ellison.
Medida Matters, December 22, 2006
On the December 21 edition of CNN's The Situation Room, host Wolf Blitzer attributed a "raging controversy" to Rep.-elect Keith Ellison (D-MN) for his reported intention to use a copy of the Quran as part of his swearing-in ceremony -- rather than attributing it to those who have denounced Ellison. Blitzer's comments came while reporting on a letter written by Rep. Virgil Goode (R-VA) attacking Muslims and Ellison. Blitzer stated that Ellison's "plans to use the Quran in the swearing-in ceremony have touched off a raging controversy." Blitzer also suggested that Ellison was "war[ring]" with Goode. Continue
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