State Department Website Features Muslim Congressman

Yesterday, the U.S. State Department's USINFO website carried an interview with Minnesota Representative Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress. Saying that his constituents elected him because of his values, he continued: "The values that underlie Islam ... are shared by all faith traditions. Belief in charity, in giving to others in need and facing adversity, the belief in equality and justice -- there is no religion, including Islam, that has a monopoly on these ideas.... In fact, they're not just compatible with democracy; they drive us toward a society in which there is consultation, in which there is input and approval from the populace." Emphasizing his point, Ellison, the article pointed out, quoted by memory a Quranic verse, Surah 49:13, that says humanity was "created you from a single pair, male and female, and fashioned you into tribes and nations, so that you would know each other ... and not hate and despise each other. Surely the most honored among you is the one who is most righteous and just."