Keith Ellison, D-Minn., the first Muslim elected to the United States Congress, has announced that he will not take his oath of office on the Bible, but on the bible of Islam, the Koran.Don't want to swear on the bible? Don't run for office.
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The rule is, if you're going to be a public servant, you make your promise to do your job and uphold your office by putting your hand on the bible and swearing to do the same.
Not that it has done any good in the past. We have found out many times that they're just as willing to lie to God as they are to a fellow citizen. I guess he's as willing to lie to Allah as any other politician is willing to lie to us and God.
But, that's the way it's supposed to work. It's the law, and people of all religions and backgrounds have had to do it to take office or to take the witness stand for hundreds of years.
So Mr. Ellison, D-Minn., mind if I borrow your Koran, Quran, whateverthehell, when you're done swearing on it? I feel the Taco Bell urge coming on.
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds.
Hat tip to banedad for "letting" me steal that 'toon.
12 comments:
Swearing on the bible is a tradition, not law. In fact, any "religious test" is specifically pohibited by the constitution. The wording of the oath taken is prescribed by law, and it will be interesting to see if "so help me God" at the end is modified somewhat in this case, which would definitely be illegal.
I believe the bible is a symbol of one's commitment, bu if you aren't a christian, then you should be able to use your own religious instrument if you so choose.
Nixon swore on two bibles. Look where that got him(and us). Clinton swore on a bible.
This country was created by people seeking freedom, religious and otherwise.
If a Jew chose only to swear on an Old Testament, would that be ruffling feathers? I doubt it.
As long as the man wants and tries to do a good job, who the hell cares what he swears his oath on?
they shouldnt have to swear on anything. its a bullshit thing to do and none take their oaths seriously. that being said if you think taking an oath on something you hold sacred should apply. if he doesnt hold the bible sacred then what good is it. i couldnt care less if he took the oath on green eggs and ham. actually i would prefer them to take the oath on green eggs and ham. no, not the book...the food.
by the way your toon can be purchased on a shirt from www.tshirthell.com
SHIT!!! I was actually going to put some wording in that post along the lines of swearing on any book - be it bible, koran, or even Mein Kampf - should be done away with. I forgot.
Anyway, I guess what I was trying to point out is it doesn't matter what politicians swear on, they still lie. It's futile.
T-shirt hell has lots of spiffy shirts. :)
And Dennis Prager may be an idiot. I'm not that familiar with his stuff. But in that editorial I think he makes some good points. One of which, is that someone is wanting to swear on a Koran. Which, last I knew, followers of the Koran were trying to kill us.
To which I respond(isn't this fun?):
Followers of the Koran are trying to kill us. Followers of the Koran are also living productive, non-bomb making lives and not trying to bomb us. Is Keith Ellison a terrorist? No.
If he believes in the word of God as interpreted by Mohammed, then good for him! If he believes in the flying spaghetti monster, that's fine with me, too.
If I were elected, I would swear on my wedding license. I hold my commitment more dearly than any bible, Koran, or symbol.
Again....the oath is what matters. The motivation, ability, and commitment to the job is what matters. The instrument doesn't.
Undermining American civilization? Give me a break!
I say he either uses the bible or he gets to go home. It *is* tradition so let's go with it shall we? If I joined a club and I knew it was their tradition to beat the living shit out of me as part of my initiation (Oakland Rats?) and I didn't want that to happen, I wouldn't try to join in the first place.
See how that works? Our club, our rules.
The rules of the club are that he can choose any book he wants, or no book. That's the law and the tradition of America. From the point of view of government, your religion doesn't matter.
bfy: You fail the American citizenship test. Stay in Canada.
Swearing an oath on the bible is something movies are made of. Washington began a trend for presitential swearings but have you ever been a witness in court, raised your right hand and said yes, no bible, just answeredthe clerks question, ever seen the congress sworn in??? where was the bible. howabout 100 illegal's becoming citizens oath but no bible. Again the main issue is lost. who let the moooslim in??? America is lost.
sorry mark but bfy passed the citizens test better than you. he understands that freedom was and still is the basis for this country more especially religious freedom. i'm all for keeping religion out of our government but as long as they got a "tradition" then let him pick what he wants to swear an oath on. maybe you and your friends in al queda dont care about freedom but we here in america do.
I believe that the point of using the Bible upon which to swear an oath is that the people who did so were Christian, indicating that they would take that oath seriously so as not to profane God. If you don't believe in the Christian God then an oath on a Bible means nothing. If his swearing upon the Koran would make his oath more meaningful, then he should by all means do so.
I'll swear on the Bible, the Koran, the latest issue of 'O', or even all three at once! Whatever you want me to swear on!
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