Representative Keith Ellison (D-MN)

Rep Keith Ellison is a freshman congressman from the State of Minnesota. In November, he became the first Muslim to be elected to Congress. An uproar has been created by the fact that upon his swearing in, he would use a Koran instead of the traditional Christian bible.

I can understand the concern by many in a segment of our society who see this move as one to break with a longstanding tradition. Further, many within this segment of society see it as a continuation of breaking many longstanding traditions in our society. However, there is one tradition that our society created more important than all others.

That tradition is freedom. America is a wonderful and unique nation. Different from all others, ours is a society which values freedom above all else. Freedom does not mean democracy and is not about elections. Freedom is about choosing your own life, despite what others may do. And this tradition varies significantly from societies in Europe, who claim to choose equality as their tradition. America, historically, has not made that claim. We claim and have always claimed that this is a free nation. That, while we have equality of opportunity, we do not have equality of results.

The most important political documents of this nation include the Bill of Rights, or the first ten amendments to the Constitution. This document outlines the freedoms that Americans have, which cannot be taken away by political process. Among these is the freedom of religious practice.

In the case of Rep Ellison, he has freely chosen to practice Islam as his faith. This is not contradictory to the concept of America. This only enforces it, despite the fact that America is predominantly a Christian nation.

And when a congressman takes office and swears upon a text of faith that has meaning to him/her, I believe it is important that the swearing mean something to that individual. If I lived in Egypt and were asked to swear upon the Koran, my swearing would have no meaning. I am not a Muslim. So when Rep Ellison swore upon the Koran, he was promising that he would uphold the laws of the United States and he did so upon a text in which he deeply believes. This is not contrary to American values despite a Christian tradition to this nation. This is supporting our tradition.