Well, a quick on following up on my previous post. Thanks to a link in the defending Dawkins blog post I read a rant titled “America, Not Keith Ellison, decides what book a congressman takes his oath on,” which is basically a right wing hate message about a Muslim supposedly intending to take his oath of office on the Quran rather than the Bible.
If the blog entry wasn’t so angry it would be funny. Apparently Dennis Prager has taken it upon himself to be the “Voice of America” and says things like: (snips as there is a whole page of this diatribe)
“First, it is an act of hubris that perfectly exemplifies multiculturalist activism — my culture trumps America’s culture.”
“Insofar as a member of Congress taking an oath to serve America and uphold its values is concerned, America is interested in only one book, the Bible. If you are incapable of taking an oath on that book, don’t serve in Congress.”
“And whoever decides these matters, not to mention virtually every editorial page in America, is not going to offend a Muslim.”
“In fact, the opposite is more likely: Ellison’s doing so will embolden Islamic extremists and make new ones, as Islamists, rightly or wrongly, see the first sign of the realization of their greatest goal — the Islamicization of America.”
Amazing isnt it? I love the apparent lack of irony when he accuses Ellison of hubris, yet the whole blog post is written as if Prager speaks for “America.” I have to ask what value is there in getting a religious person to take a religous oath on a book which effectively means nothing to them? Surely, the idea behind the oath on a Bible is that Christians will feel it binding. If they are not Christians, you could really use a copy of the latest Tom Clancy novel for all the effect it has. This is without discussing the apparent separation of church and state in American government (which is a myth as far as I am concerned).
Interestingly, it is all nonsense anyway. Members of the US congress do not take an oath with their hand on a book and this was just Prager getting all “Righteous” over an imagined slight which he took as implication that Islam was taking over the US.
Now that does make it funny.
Added to all this the furore was based on a nonsense idea (everyone has to swear on the bible), previous Presidents have sworn an oath on books other than the bible or taken office with an affirmation rather than an oath – citing religous beliefs as the reason. It seems that as long as the religous beliefs being tolerated are acceptable it is OK…
Technorati tags: Keith Ellison, Dennis Prager, Religion, Right Wing, Nutcase, Insane, Congress, Islam