In 2004, Oklahoma's Governor Brad Henry issued Executive Order 04-21 creating the Governor's Ethnic American Advisory Council. The Council is to promote equal rights and religious freedom for Americans from Middle Eastern and Near Eastern communities. Carrying out that mission, Chairperson Marjan Seirafi-Pour recently e-mailed each state senator and representative offering a copy of the Quran decorated with the state’s centennial seal. The e-mail closed with the statement that the legislator should let the Council know if the lawmaker not want to receive the gift. The AP reported yesterday that now at least 24 legislators have refused a copy after state Rep. Rex Duncan said that he did not want a book that endorses the idea of killing innocent women and children in the name of ideology.
Other legislators are taking somewhat more nuanced stands. House Speaker Lance Cargill says he will accept the gift, but "as a measure of goodwill" would present the Council with a copy of the Centennial edition of the Bible published by Oklahoma Baptists. Rep. George Faught said he was refusing the Quran not out of racial or ethnic hate, but because "As a Christian, I view the Holy Bible as God’s inerrant, inspired word and try every day to apply the teachings of Christ to all areas of my life." Council chair Seirafi-Pour lamented that one reason the decision was made to distribute the Quran was to give lawmakers accurate information about Islam.
