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December 21, 2006
Stand Up for Religious Freedom, Tell Rep. Virgil Goode to Stop Attacking US Muslims
by Faithful Progressive
Stand up for religious freedom, tell Rep. Virgil Goode that America is still "one nation under God, with liberty and justice for all."
Lawmaker won't apologize for 'Islamophobic' letter:
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A Virginia congressman will not apologize for writing that without immigration reform "there will be many more Muslims elected to office demanding the use of the Quran," his spokesman said.
Republican Rep. Virgil Goode's letter to constituents also warns that without immigration reform "we will have many more Muslims in the United States."
Spokesman Linwood Duncan said Goode's letter was written in response to complaints his office received about Minnesota Rep.-elect Keith Ellison's request to be sworn in using the Quran.
Ellison is the first Muslim to be elected to Congress.
Goode's office released the letter to CNN Wednesday.
In it, Goode wrote, "When I raise my hand to take the oath on Swearing In Day, I will have the Bible in my other hand. I do not subscribe to using the Quran in any way.
"The Muslim representative from Minnesota was elected by the voters of that district and if American citizens don't wake up and adopt the Virgil Goode position on immigration there will likely be many more Muslims elected to office and demanding the use of the Quran.
"We need to stop illegal immigration totally and reduce legal immigration and end the diversity visas policy pushed hard by President Clinton and allowing many persons from the Middle East to come to this country.
"I fear that in the next century we will have many more Muslims in the United States if we do not adopt the strict immigration policies that I believe are necessary to preserve the values and beliefs traditional to the United States of America and to prevent our resources from being swamped."
He added, "The Ten Commandments and 'In God We Trust' are on the wall in my office. A Muslim student came by the office and asked why I did not have anything on my wall about the Quran.
"My response was clear, 'As long as I have the honor of representing the citizens of the 5th District of Virginia in the United States House of Representatives, the Quran is not going to be on the wall of my office.' "
The Council on American-Islamic Relations asked Goode to apologize. They provided a letter sent by Rep. Bill Pascrell that makes for a good draft of a letter to oppose this type of un-American bashing of a single religious group.
December 20, 2006
Rep. Virgil Goode
1520 Longworth Building
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Congressman Goode:
I was greatly disappointed and in fact startled by your recent constituent letter addressing the issue of Representative-elect Keith Ellison using a Koran for his swearing-in ceremony. The United States Constitution is clear on this issue when its states in Article VI, section 3: "...no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States." Furthermore, as a returning Member of Congress you know that the official swearing-in for new Members of Congress is done without use of any religious text. The use of any text including a Bible, Torah or Koran is done only in a ceremonial event after the Member has already taken an official oath of office. I have had the pleasure to meet Keith Ellison on a number of occasions and it is clear that his integrity and values will make him an outstanding Member of Congress for many years to come. Keith Ellison serves as a great example of Muslim-Americans in our nation and he does not have to answer to you, to me or anyone else in regards to questions about his faith.
Your letter also wrongfully equates the issue of immigration with a fear of Muslim integration in our society. I take your remarks as personally offensive to the large community of Muslim-Americans I represent in the Eighth District of New Jersey. I have learned a great deal from the Muslim community and have made it one of my priorities to educate other Americans about the common misconceptions regarding the peaceful faith of Islam. There are many valid policy questions regarding immigration that should be addressed by Congress, however promoting a fear and disrespect of Muslims is not only wrongheaded, but it is reckless. Muslim-Americans do not threaten our American values and traditions, in fact they only add to them. The State of Virginia has a large vibrant Muslim population and I would hope you would take this opportunity to meet with that community and learn to dispel misconceptions instead of promoting them.
Please accept my comments in good faith. Together I know we are committed to fighting extremism. Virgil, I trust that our "fight" will not be confused or misdirected to discriminate against any race, religion or ethnicity.
Sincerely,
Bill Pascrell, Jr.
Member of Congress
To contact:
Representative Virgil Goode
Washington, DC Office
1520 Longworth Building
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: (202)225-4711
Fax: (202)225-5681
Posted by Faithful Progressive at December 21, 2006 12:16 PM
Comments
The attempt to conflate Islamophobia with immigration reform is laughable, except I can only imagine that we'll only see more of it from the Right. Once they come up with an intellectually unfounded conflation of issues, they tend to use it relentlessly until it takes hold in the minds of enough people for it to enter the cultural discourse (see their attempts to claim that all gays are pedophiles).
It will be interesting to see how this claim gets finessed by the Right over time. As progressive Christians, lets be sure to team up with our Muslim siblings to squash each attempt to nuance this BS as it comes out.
Posted by: john g at December 21, 2006 01:05 PM
No matter what nonsense Congressman Virgil Goode spouts, he'll continue to be re-elected by his constituency of good-ole-boys from Franklin County, Virginia. I live in a Congressional district adjacent to Goode's so I know whereof I speak.
Please, please let's all allow good ole Virge to keep on writing and speaking as he pleases. The more Rep. Goode writes and says to expose his own narrow-minded ignorance, the more progressives will feel emboldened to vote against his willful stupidity.
Posted by: Cathie at December 23, 2006 03:20 AM
It is truly sad that the people of Goode's district and believe me, their are many, many good people in that district aren't standing up and demanding either a retraction of his remarks or his removal from office. Goode's comments harken back to the dark days of massive resistance when Byrd machine operatives led the state with equally ridiculous rhetoric that embarrased the Commonwealth. The former bastion of the Confederacy lingers with those like Goode who have no respect or tolerance for anyone different from them. I challenge the people of Albemarle, Appomattox, Buckingham, Campbell, Charlotte, Cumberland, Fluvanna, Franklin, Greene, Halifax, Lunenburg, Mecklenburg, Nelson, Pittsylvania, and Prince Edward Counties to speak up and speak out and condemn the embarrasment of Virgil Goode.
Posted by: Ray at December 27, 2006 11:40 AM
You don't tell Republican nothing they were born with out ears that work but their mouths work real well for them.
Posted by: Monte Schlarman at January 4, 2007 02:05 AM
Hey Folks!
I'm back after going since 12/23 w/out my computer. The hard drive crashed and burned. If Bob Bowers is still posting here, please go to dioswva.org and look at the Saturday@Council offerings. I'm attending the program on Native Americans in the Episcopal Church. I'll let you know what I learn.
Wishing peace to all, even Gary -- but I'm hoping he's outta here for good. Or do I mean "Goode"?
Posted by: Cathie at January 6, 2007 02:55 AM
