DAR AL HARB-U.S.A.-WASHINGTON D.C.: A JIHADISTS HOPE

Congressman wants U.S. forces out of Iraq
By FREDERIC J. FROMMER, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) - The first Muslim member of Congress says the solution to Iraq lies in an immediate withdrawal of military forces and focusing instead on political and diplomatic efforts.
"We could describe it as a redeployment or withdrawal, but I think we have run the course in terms of our ability to resolve this conflict militarily," said Rep. Keith Ellison, a freshman Minnesota Democrat.

"I think we need to have a political and economic and diplomatic engagement, and we need to encourage the forces that are in Iraq to begin to resolve the violence in Iraq," Ellison said Tuesday during an interview with The Associated Press.

Ellison argued that President Bush's expected plan to send 20,000 more troops to Iraq is "way too late, way too little" to make a difference.

"So rather than do something small and ineffective, why not get about the business of what we're going to have to do eventually, which is to begin to end the occupation?" he said.

Bush is expected to ask Congress for $100 billion in additional funds for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"I want to see (the request) first, I want to actually look at it, but I'm not inclined to continue to support a war or an occupation that he has no plans to get us out of, and which is so costly in terms of dollars and lives of American soldiers - but also Iraqis," Ellison said.

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Ohhhh Ohhhhh, well color me surprised ! ! ! ! !


and


Muslim in the House offers hope
By Charles C. Haynes
Gannett News Service

WASHINGTON — Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., doesn't want to be known as the "Muslim representative." But even before he took the oath of office this past week, the first Muslim ever elected to Congress was already a symbol of hope - and a source of controversy.

For American Muslims, Ellison is a welcome sign of inclusion at a time when many are made to feel like outsiders in their own country. Much like the election of the first Roman Catholic president in 1960, Ellison's election breaks new ground in the ongoing struggle to level the playing field for all Americans.

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But American Muslims, take heart. Today, Roman Catholics make up nearly a fourth of the American population - and 28 percent of the Congress. Beyond the fringe, no one any longer sees Catholics as a threat to American "values and beliefs."

The lesson of American history is that religious freedom requires more than constitutional protection - as vital and necessary as that is. Although the Constitution declares that "no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office," prejudice still keeps people of minority faiths - and of no faith - from winning elections. And although the First Amendment promises "no establishment," some members of the majority faith still push for a semi-established "Christian nation."

That's why religious diversity - including diversity among Protestants - is critical for religious freedom. As James Madison explained in 1788: "Religious freedom arises from that multiplicity of sects, which pervades America, and which is the best and only security for religious liberty in any society. For where there is such a variety of sects, there cannot be a majority of any one sect to oppress and persecute the rest."

Let's pause, then, to salute that much-maligned concept, "diversity." Far from being a threat to American values, the religious diversity of immigrants has moved us closer to realizing our ideals. Only as waves of Catholics, Jews, Muslims and others have arrived to become citizens has our nation been forced to live up to what we agreed to in the first place.

What could be more American than the moment Keith Ellison puts his hand on the Quran and swears to uphold the Constitution - and thereby swears by all that he holds sacred to uphold religious freedom for everyone? That's a photo we should send around the world because that's a picture of America at its best.


Ahhhhh the stupidity of the ignorant or the complicit...


Pertinent Links:

1) Congressman wants U.S. forces out of Iraq

2) Muslim in the House offers hope