http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/17/AR2006091700 230.html
Keith Ellison may be first Muslim in U.S. Congress By Todd Melby Reuters Sunday, September 17, 2006; 8:50 AM MINNEAPOLIS (Reuters) - Keith Ellison, who could become the first Muslim to win a seat in the U.S. Congress, is a former Catholic who says both religions and family roots in the civil rights movement shaped a fiery liberal philosophy. The chance to make history thrust the 43-year-old lawyer into the spotlight last week when he won the Democratic nomination to run for the U.S. House of Representatives. Ellison's faith hardly came up in the campaign in a heavily Democratic district but his former ties to controversial Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan were discussed. Ellison said he had renounced Farrakhan and his group long ago because of their "bigoted and anti-Semitic ideas." But the issue may not die down. His Republican opponent, Alan Fine, said after the primary he was "personally offended, as a Jew, that we have a candidate like this running for U.S. Congress." Fine called Ellison a follower of the "known racist" Farrakhan who is a person who "believes that Jews are the scourge of the earth." Ellison told the Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota and the Dakotas in a letter in May he got involved with Farrakhan 11 years ago because he cared about personal responsibility and self-sufficiency among black men. He said he "wrongly dismissed" concerns that Farrakhan's views were anti-Jewish. "They were and are anti-Semitic and I should have come to that conclusion earlier than I did. ... At no time did I ever share their hateful views," he said. State Rep. Frank Hornstein, a fellow Democrat who sat next to Ellison in the Minnesota state legislature, calls Ellison "a champion of human rights for all." "As a Jew, I would always have concerns about Farrakhan, but I never felt Keith shared those views. It just never occurred to me that Keith Ellison would be hostile to the Jewish community or anti-Semitic," he said. Ellison worships at Masjid An-Nur, a mosque in Minneapolis that is undergoing a $1.5 million renovation to give it a dome and minaret. Imam Markram El-Amin said Ellison attended the mainstream Muslim services "as often as he can." Ellison was raised a Catholic in Detroit and converted to Islam while attending university. He says his "strength and moral courage" come from both religions. "I am inspired by the Koran's message of an encompassing divine love and a deep faith life every day," he said. His grandfather risked lynching to work registering black voters in Louisiana. Ellison said that "helped inspire my commitment to justice and equal rights." Ellison is a heavy favorite to win the November election. He would also be the first black Minnesotan ever elected to a federal position. Zafar Siddiqui, president of the Islamic Resource Group in Edina, Minnesota, said, "The Muslim community feels a sense of empowerment and inclusion from this race. The realization that there is a place for them at the table is very edifying and constructive development." [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: osint@yahoogroups.com Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
