Ellison Will Use Thomas Jefferson's Quran For Swearing-In

Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress, has demonstrated his political skill in dealing with his controversial plan to have his ceremonial swearing-in take place on the Quran. (See prior posting.) Yesterday's Washington Post reports that Ellison will use an English version of the Quran that once belonged to Thomas Jefferson. It is now held by the Library of Congress which acquired it in 1815 as part of a collection Jefferson sold for $24,000 to replace the congressional library that had been burned by British in the War of 1812. Rick Jauert, a spokesman for Ellison, said: "Jefferson's Quran dates religious tolerance to the founders of our country."