A Great Interview with the First Muslim Elected to the U.S. Congress

[Time for change]

Keith Ellison is an African-American who was born in Detroit and converted to Islam at the age of 19, while attending college. He is a lawyer with a background in civil rights, and was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 2002.

In 2006, in the election that gave the U.S. House back to the Democrats, Ellison won his U.S. House race for Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District with 56% of the vote, thus becoming the first Muslim ever elected to the U.S. Congress. In this year’s House elections, of which at least 66 Republican seats and 38 Democratic seats are judged to have at least some reasonable chance of changing parties, Ellison’s seat is not one of them.

With the Bush/Cheney attack on our Constitution and their decision that neither the Geneva Conventions nor any other international law applied to their “War on Terror”, Muslims were essentially relegated not merely to “second class citizenship” but to sub-human status. They were consequently imprisoned indefinitely by the thousands, with none of the legal rights afforded to them which typically characterize a civilized society, and often tortured as well. I regularly receive anti-Muslim hate e-mails from the conservative on-line magazine, “Human Events”. And what is especially troubling about all this is that the majority of Americans have at least passively accepted this situation, or are entirely ignorant of it.

For these reasons and more, I see it as a very hopeful sign that in a post-9/11 environment, with so much anti-Muslim feeling running wild in our country, that there is at least one part of the country where a Muslim could be elected to Congress. And I see it as not just a sign, but as significant corrective action. Nothing alleviates prejudice, in my opinion, more than exposure to people from despised groups who serve as a good role model.

I’m posting excerpts from Ellison’s recent interview by The Progressive, not just because I agree with virtually everything he says, but because I view his comments as exceptionally wise, insightful, enlightening, and worthy of being heard much more widely by the American people:

Keith Ellison



The significance of Ellison’s election

Question: Your election two years ago as the first Muslim member of Congress got global attention. What do you see as its significance?

Ellison: Well, in one sense it’s important, and in another sense, it isn’t. It’s important because people who are not Muslim in the United States know that the Muslim community has folks who are willing to serve and participate in American society. It also
signals to the Muslim community that, hey look, we need to be involved in politics, and help shape the landscape for the betterment of all. We’ve broken a threshold…. And now I’m not the only member of Congress who is Muslim. André Carson (Democrat of Indiana) is Muslim as well.

In another sense, it’s not that important because at the end of the day we all have to serve the public… Without regard to your religion, your race, your color, your ethnicity, you have to come through. Hopefully, I’ll try to distinguish myself in service, not in terms of any demographic characteristic.

Acceptance by other House members

Question: Your election inspired some adverse reaction. How have you taken all this?

Ellison: Well, the overwhelming majority of my colleagues in Congress have been very welcoming… But there are some who are incredibly misinformed and there are others who are literally pandering – they know better – to the worst impulses in their constituency for political gain… At the end of the day, people who are well intentioned and of goodwill are going to prevail.

Obama

Question: Senator Obama spurned your offer to campaign for him at an Iowa mosque. In denying charges that he’s Muslim, he hasn’t stated that there isn’t anything wrong with being one. What’s your response to Obama running away from the Muslim community?

Ellison: Senator Obama, in my opinion, is not running from the Muslim community. There have been things that his campaign workers have done that they should not have done. There were mistakes, and… he indicated to me that these sorts of things were unacceptable and that he was running an inclusive campaign that embraced all of America’s rich, diverse members. I believe that. He has said a lot of things that praised the Muslim American community.

But the context is that Republicans have tried to diminish him by saying that he’s a Muslim… But the truth is you never vote for a Muslim or a Christian or a black person or a New Yorker. You vote for a fully fleshed human being who is wildly complex…

I agree with Ellison’s characterization of Obama’s stand on this. Here is a great quote from Obama’s Berlin speech:

The walls between races and tribes; natives and immigrants; Christian and Muslim and Jew cannot stand. These now are the walls we must tear down… If we could win a battle of ideas against the communists, we can stand with the vast majority of Muslims who reject the extremism that leads to hate instead of hope.

Racism and bigotry in the United States

Question: … A recent New York Times/CBS poll revealed that almost one-fourth of the white population thinks that the country is not ready for a black President…How do you gauge the level of racism and religious bigotry that still exists in this country?

Ellison: I think America is more tolerant and more appreciative of its diversity than ever in its history. Think about it: For 80 percent of America’s history, slavery was perfectly legal. For about 85 percent of American history, it was perfectly legal to assign somebody to sit in the back of a bus because of their race. Today, it would be absolutely scandalous to do that, and people would not tolerate it… Let’s not forget: Obama got more votes than any other Democratic candidate in the field.

There’s no question that in the course of this election, you’ll be able to pull out outrageous, offensive events that occur. Some incredibly sexist things happened to Hillary Clinton too. But over seventeen million people voted for Hillary Clinton. The two finalists end up being from backgrounds that we traditionally haven’t had in our Presidents. That’s great, isn’t it? …

This generation, for good or for bad, doesn’t carry the pain of segregation. I never saw a “Whites Only” sign. I can’t live as if I did because I just don’t feel it. It’s not as personal as it is for my mother or my father.

The tension is the preceding generation wants to know: Do you appreciate the sacrifices we made? The incoming generation says: Yeah, do you appreciate that times have changed? That period of time between 1954 – when Brown came into being – and 1965 – when the Voting Rights Act was passed – is known as the capital C civil rights, capital M movement. We killed Jim Crow. Now, I’m not saying that societal racism is over but Jim Crow has been defeated. We have to be vigilant but we are now in the post-civil rights movement.

The challenges that Americans face are much more economic than racial, although racial inequality is still a challenge for us, and so many economic challenges are masked by race… We have to talk about economic justice and peace in America, and around the world… We have to be ready for the times we’re in.

Iraq and the surge

Question: You went to Iraq last year. What was that like?

Ellison: There’s not a single Iraqi family that has not known death or the maiming of their family members… Sewage and electricity has been destroyed. This is a city that has 7,000 years of recorded history. There was a place in Iraq called the House of Wisdom, which was a university devoted to higher learning and the faculties of the mind before anyone had ever heard of Oxford… And here it is now, just smashed.

Question: What about the surge?

Ellison: Many people like McCain talk about the success of the quote-unquote surge. Well, the surge has been a failure. The reason we have any kind of reduction or flat-lining of violence in Iraq is because our failed policy for many years allowed for Baghdad to be ethnically cleansed. So where you used to have mixed neighborhoods of Shia and Sunni, you don’t have that anymore because the majority Shia neighbors have kicked the Sunnis out, and the majority Sunni neighbors have kicked the Shia out. In the western part of the country, the Awakening movement took it to Al Qaeda because Al Qaeda was killing them off and telling them, “Do what we say.” So these Sunni Muslims said, “No, not here,” and they fought them back. And let’s face it: The Shia have been told to stand down. And they have. These are the reasons we’ve seen the reduction in violence, not the surge. The political goals that were supposed to have been achieved by the surge by and large have not been achieved. And so we got a real mess that is going to be left to the next President to solve, and I hope that President takes the time and has the courage to do the things necessary to promote peace in Iraq and to extract the United States out of that country militarily.

Impeachment

Question: You’ve come out for President Bush’s impeachment. Why do you think it’s necessary and why don’t the leaders of the Democratic Party in the House, such as Speaker Pelosi, agree with you?

Ellison: Number one, the President’s violation of the foreign intelligence surveillance program – he erected a secret surveillance program – is a clear violation of the law. It’s certainly a high crime or misdemeanor.

Number two, the absolute proliferation of these signing statements, in which he signs the law but then says he is not going to abide by it. That’s impeachable.

Misstatements and false statements to lure the United States into Iraq. I think they’re impeachable. So, I think he should be impeached.

Why hasn’t the leadership done it? Because they believe that it would be politically divisive. It would bog the Congress down into a partisan gridlock. It would interfere with us pursuing an agenda, to promote the best interest of the American people. And that’s their reason. I don’t agree with it…

Ellison skillfully sidesteps a question about LIHOP/MIHOP

Question: You got into trouble a while ago for comparing the 9/11 attacks to the Reichstag fire in Nazi Germany. What exactly were you trying to say there?

Ellison: Well, I’m not in a big hurry to bring it back up (Laughs). But let me just say that after a catastrophe, Presidents – not just this President – have been known to extend their powers. And this President has absolutely extended his power in the wake of the catastrophe. That’s all I want to say about it.

Yeah, good move, Keith. ;)


On the practical differences between activists and politicians

Question: Do you agree with Reverend Jesse Jackson’s criticism that Senator Obama talks down to African Americans?

Ellison: Now, let me just tell you this. I don’t want to sound like I am equivocating but I see both sides of this thing. The fact is that one of the things in the incoming era we’re emerging into will be the separation between the politician and the activist.

There will be an important role for people like Jesse Jackson. They’re like Jeremiah of the Old Testament. They’re lamenting the fallibility of society, the abandonment of its values. They’re going to call the country back to its better self.

And then there will be people who will be politicians. Politicians sound a little less strident than activists because they have to keep everybody in the tent – so to speak – in order to move an agenda. When you have to keep everybody in the tent, you can’t just “tell it like it is.” You have to be sensitive to everybody who is under the tent and keep them all moving in the same direction to achieve a definable outcome. Whereas the activist has an equally important role, which is to help build a national consensus for a more just, more fair, more equal society.

Some words about Islam

Question: You’re Muslim and socially liberal. How does this complicate the notion of Islam held by a lot of Americans?

Ellison: Muslims are not all socially conservative. In Islam, we have the Wahhabist tradition. We also have this tradition that is practical… Islam is wildly diverse. I’m at the progressive end.

Career goals

Question: Where do you go from here?

Ellison: ... I’m honored to be the Congressman here. There’s a lot to do here, and I got all I can handle here. So, I’m going to help build the progressive movement. I’m going to help promote peace, middle class equality, environmental sustainability and civil rights, and that’s what I’m doing… God willing, that’s what I’m going to be doing.

[Dissent Is Patriotic]

1. Bravo! Thanks for posting. This is an excellent interview.

Rep. Ellison is extremely insightful...I particularly like the succint way he breaks things out here. Specifically, the difference between a politician and an activist. I think it is a great way to make the point that both are different and necessary.

Thanks.

[Time for change]

3. That was probably my favorite part

I've said similar things in the past, but never as well as he did.

[Poseidan]

2. 9/11 and the Reichstagg burning?

I compare the two all the time. No one gives me any grief. They probably succumbed to my Voodoo curses.

Ahh... if only people truly knew the Nazi's. Most people think Nazi's were summoned from hell, committed the Holocaust, then went straight back to hell. Actually though, the Nazi party was elected exactly as the Democratic and Republican parties are elected. It took them years and years to systematically create the Third Reich dictatorship (burning of the Reichstagg being a critical component).

Nice to see religious freedom though, in government. Seems like a perfectly capable Legislator.

[Time for change]

9. It's because you're not a U.S. Congressperson

If you were, and you compared 9/11 to the Reichstagg fire, you'd be crucified. Look what they did to Cynthia McKinney.

[bobbolink]

4. I was fortunate to be able to hear Ellison speak in Denver during the Convention.

I can tell you.... he really had us on the edge of our seats! He is a dynamic speaker.

Interestingly, he used a lot of Biblical quotations.

I'm very glad to see this interview here... what I've seen of him has really impressed me.

[Sisaruus]

5. I heard him this past June and was very impressed.

I heard him at the National Conference on Media Reform. I hope to hear more from him in the future.

[Time for change]

8. I could tell just from reading the interview that he's a dynamic speaker

Though I would love to hear him speak in person.

[bobbolink]

13. The organization which sponsored this may be putting it out on video....

It was put on by The Network For Spiritual Progressives, and they were recording everything. It would be a GREAT video, because there were tremendous talks!

I haven't checked their website yet.... maybe it's there. They said they would be deciding in a month, and it's over a month now.

Thanks for reminding me... ^_^

[Love Bug]

6. He's my congressman!

I've heard him interviewed many times and he really is a cool guy.

[Forkboy]

7. That was great.

Thanks!

[Time for change]

10. Thank you

[Time for change]

11. Ellison interview with Amy Goodman condemning police intimidation of journalists at the

Republican Convention:

http://www.democracynow.org/2008/9/2/rep_keith_ellison_d_minn_condemns

[Forkboy]

12. This totally deserves another kick.

:kick: