.... he'll be using Thomas Jefferson's Koran.
Jefferson's copy is an English translation by George Sale published in the 1750s; it survived the 1851 fire that destroyed most of Jefferson's collection and has his customary initialing on the pages.
Jefferson wasn't Muslim, of course; he was simply a widely read intellectual. Still, pretty funny. Good to see Ellison keeping his temper and playing this perfectly.
religion, Keith Ellison, politics, midtopia
2 comments:
"Playing this perfectly??" You mean he's playing a game with this? You mean he's trying to make some kind of point here that has nothing to do with his being a devout Muslim?
BTW, Thomas Jefferson had THE most extensive library around during his time. It doesn't surprise me he would have also had a copy of a Quran in that Library. Nice attempt by Ellison, though, to try to tie his religion to one of our most famous Founding Fathers. Wonder who put that idea in his head?
JP5
Don't jump to conclusions.
I mean that, having been attacked and provoked, Ellison's response has been perfect -- from staying calm, to noting he can trace his ancestry back to the Mayflower, to refusing to insult those who insult him, to using Jefferson's Koran, to explaining the constitutional history of oaths.
Whether you like or hate him, you have to respect the maturity and savvy he's shown in his handling of this.
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