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Congressman Keith Ellison (D-MN), the first Muslim elected to the U.S. Congress, praised General Colin Powell's recent comments expressing his disapproval of anti-Islamic statements regarding Democratic Presidential candidate, Senator Barack Obama.
"I am thankful to General Powell for clarifying what being an American is today," Ellison stated. "The General asked, and eloquently answered, the question all Americans, and in particular Muslim Americans, have longed to hear," the Congressman said. "Religion, like race or gender, does not define what makes one a patriotic American," Ellison said.
On this past week's Meet the Press program, General Powell said 'he was troubled that some Republicans have been spreading rumors that Obama is a Muslim.' Powell said:
"Well, the correct answer is, he is not a Muslim, he's a Christian. He's always been a Christian. But the really right answer is, what if he is? Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer is no, that's not America. Is there something wrong with some seven-year-old Muslim-American kid believing that he or she could be president? Yet, I have heard senior members of my own party drop the suggestion, 'He's a Muslim and he might be associated with terrorists.' This is not the way we should be doing it in America."
A recent Pew Research survey of Muslim Americans found that Muslim Americans overwhelmingly expressed their belief in the American Dream--even more so than non-Muslim Americans. "Seventy one percent of Muslim Americans believed that if you worked hard and got a good education then anything was possible for you in America. That compares to sixty nine percent of non-Muslim Americans," Ellison stated.
Ellison noted that General Powell cited a poignant illustration of Muslim Americans' patriotism to their country:
"(This is not the way we should be doing it in America)…I feel strongly about this particular point because of a picture I saw in a magazine. It was a photo essay about troops who are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. And one picture at the tail end of this photo essay was of a mother in Arlington Cemetery, and she had her head on the headstone of her son's grave. And as the picture focused in, you could see the writing on the headstone. And it gave his awards--Purple Heart, Bronze Star--showed that he died in Iraq, gave his date of birth, date of death. He was 20 years old. And then, at the very top of the headstone, it didn't have a Christian cross, it didn't have the Star of David, it had (a) crescent and a star of the Islamic faith. And his name was Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan, and he was an American. He was born in New Jersey. He was 14 years old at the time of 9/11, and he waited until he [could] go serve his country, and he gave his life."
"I am proud and grateful to General Powell for his lesson in tolerance. It is indeed our diversity that has built this great country. It is also that same diversity that has made us a beacon of both strength and hope in the world," Ellison stated.
Ellison has long made tolerance, dialogue and understanding a trademark of his entire adult life.
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