US Holocaust Museum
Urged to Drop Islam-Basher
Washington, DC: A prominent
national Islamic civil rights and advocacy group has called
for the removal of a presidential appointee to the United
States Holocaust Memorial Council because of his intolerant
views toward Islam in American society.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has urged
that talk show host and columnist Dennis Prager be removed
from the taxpayer-supported museum's council because of
a recent syndicated column in which he wrote that Keith
Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress, should be
prevented from taking his oath of office using the Qur’an.
(President Bush recently appointed Prager to the United
States Holocaust Memorial Council, the governing board of
the Holocaust Memorial Museum, for the remainder of a five-year
term expiring January 15, 2011.)
In his column, headlined "America, Not Keith Ellison,
Decides What Book a Congressman Takes His Oath On,"
Prager wrote that swearing an oath on the Qur’an "undermines
American civilization." "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," wrote Prager. "If you are incapable
of taking an oath on that book, don't serve in Congress."
Prager also wrote that Ellison's swearing on a Qur’an
would "be doing more damage to the unity of America
and to the value system that has formed this country than
the terrorists of 9-11."
(The US Constitution states that "no religious test
shall ever be required" to hold public office. No books
of any kind are used in the actual swearing-in ceremony.
Representatives may use any book they choose, or no book
at all, during later ceremonial events.)
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) called Prager's views "intolerant,
misinformed and downright un-American."
In a letter to the United States Holocaust Memorial Council
Chairman Fred S. Zeidman, CAIR wrote:
"No one who holds such bigoted, intolerant and divisive
views should be in a policymaking position at a taxpayer-funded
institution that seeks to educate Americans about the destructive
impact hatred has had, and continues to have, on every society.
As a presidential appointee, Prager's continued presence
on the council would send a negative message to Muslims
worldwide about America's commitment to religious tolerance."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
