In a letter sent to hundreds of voters this month, Representative Virgil Goode, a Republican from Virginia, warned that the recent election of the first Muslim to Congress posed a serious threat to the nation's traditional values.
Goode was referring to Democratic Representative Keith Ellison and criminal defense lawyer who converted to Islam as a college student and was elected to the House in November. Ellison's plan to use the Koran during his private swearing-in ceremony in January had outraged some Virginia voters, prompting Goode to issue a written response to them, a spokesman for Goode said.
In his letter, which was dated Dec. 5, Goode said that Americans needed to "wake up" or else there would "likely be many more Muslims elected to office and demanding the use of the Koran."
"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," said Goode, who vowed to use the Bible when taking his own oath of office.
Goode declined on Wednesday to comment on his letter, which quickly stirred a furor among some congressional Democrats and Muslim-Americans, who accused him of bigotry and intolerance.
They noted that the Constitution specifically bars any religious screening of members of Congress and that the actual swearing in of those lawmakers occurs without any religious texts.
Ellison dismissed Goode's comments, saying they seemed ill-informed about his personal origins as well as about Constitutional protections of religious freedom.
"I'm not an immigrant," said Ellison, who traces his US ancestors back to 1742. "I'm an African-American."
Since the November election, Ellison said, he has received hostile phone calls and e-mail messages along with some death threats. But in an interview on Wednesday, he emphasized that members of Congress and ordinary citizens had been overwhelmingly supportive and said he was focusing on setting up his congressional office, getting phone lines hooked up and staff members hired, not on negative comments.
"I'm not a religious scholar, I'm a politician and I do what politicians do, which is hopefully pass legislation to help the nation," said Ellison, who said he planned to focus on secular issues like increasing the federal minimum wage and getting health insurance for the uninsured.
"I'm looking forward to making friends with Representative Goode, or at least getting to know him," said Ellison, speaking by telephone from Minneapolis. "I want to let him know that there's nothing to fear. The fact that there are many different faiths, many different colors and many different cultures in America is a great strength."
In Washington, Brendan Daly, a spokesman for the incoming House speaker, Nancy Pelosi of California, assailed Goode's letter as "offensive." Corey Saylor, legislative director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, criticized what he described as Goode's "message of intolerance."
Democrat Representative Bill Pascrell urged Goode to reach out to Muslims in Virginia and learn "to dispel misconceptions instead of promoting them."
‘SHARP COMPETITION’: Australia is to partner with US-based Lockheed Martin to make guided multiple launch rocket systems, an Australian defense official said Australia is to ramp up missile manufacturing under a plan unveiled yesterday by a top defense official, who said bolstering weapons stockpiles would help keep would-be foes at bay. Australian Minister for Defence Industry Pat Conroy said the nation would establish a homegrown industry to produce long-range guided missiles and other much-needed munitions. “Why do we need more missiles? Strategic competition between the United States and China is a primary feature of Australia’s security environment,” Conroy said in a speech. “That competition is at its sharpest in our region, the Indo-Pacific.” Australia is to partner with US-based weapons giant Lockheed Martin to make
BEYOND WASHINGTON: Although historically the US has been the partner of choice for military exercises, Jakarta has been trying to diversify its partners, an analyst said Indonesia’s first joint military drills with Russia this week signal that new Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto would seek a bigger role for Jakarta on the world stage as part of a significant foreign policy shift, analysts said. Indonesia has long maintained a neutral foreign policy and refuses to take sides in the Russia-Ukraine conflict or US-China rivalry, but Prabowo has called for stronger ties with Moscow despite Western pressure on Jakarta. “It is part of a broader agenda to elevate ties with whomever it may be, regardless of their geopolitical bloc, as long as there is a benefit for Indonesia,” said Pieter
TIGHT CAMPAIGN: Although Harris got a boost from an Iowa poll, neither candidate had a margin greater than three points in any of the US’ seven battleground states US Vice President Kamala Harris made a surprise appearance on Saturday Night Live (SNL) in the final days before the election, as she and former US president and Republican presidential nominees make a frantic last push to win over voters in a historically close campaign. The first lines Harris spoke as she sat across from Maya Rudolph, their outfits identical, was drowned out by cheers from the audience. “It is nice to see you Kamala,” Harris told Rudolph with a broad grin she kept throughout the sketch. “And I’m just here to remind you, you got this.” In sync, the two said supporters
Pets are not forgotten during Mexico’s Day of the Dead celebrations, when even Fido and Tiger get a place at the altars Mexican families set up to honor their deceased loved ones, complete with flowers, candles and photographs. Although the human dead usually get their favorite food or drink placed on altars, the nature of pet food can make things a little different. The holiday has roots in Mexican pre-Hispanic customs, as does the reverence for animals. The small, hairless dogs that Mexicans kept before the Spanish conquest were believed to help guide their owners to the afterlife, and were sometimes given