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Keith Ellison can't understand how Muslims could read the Qur'an and get the idea that it incites violence. That's interesting, since clearly there are many Muslims around the world who read the same Qur'an and do think that it incites violence. It would be good of Ellison to confront this more explicitly and offer some refutation, whether written by him or by someone else, of the jihadist view. I would be most happy to host it here and discuss it.
"Muslim congressman ends Israel trip," by Herb Keinon for The Jerusalem Post (thanks to all who sent this in):
As the first Muslim member of the US Congress, Minnesota's Keith Ellison realizes that every step he takes regarding the Arab-Israeli conflict will be closely scrutinized by both American Muslims and Jews.[...]
In fact, Ellison left Israel on Saturday after a six day-visit as part of a Democratic congressional delegation brought here by the American Israel Education Foundation, an independent, nonprofit charitable organization affiliated with the America Israel Public Affairs Committee. This was Ellison's second visit here since he was elected just nine months ago.
[...]
As to whether he felt he had a greater sensitivity to the Arab perspective than other congressmen, he said, "I know Islam, I know the religion, I read the Koran every day. When I went to the [Aksa] Mosque, it wasn't just a tourist site for me, it was a holy site. I felt the affinity for it."
But what he doesn't understand, Ellison said emphatically, were those - he called them "crazies" - who read the same Koran he did and came away with a license to murder.
"The murderers and the extremists are into something I don't know about," he said. "I don't know how they read what they read and come out with what they do. They wouldn't consider me a Muslim because I'm American, because I believe in the unity of people and that we are all on the planet to work together."
"The people who did 9/11 are hostile to everyone, and in fact if you are not the type of Muslim they want you to be, they would be happy to kill you too," Ellison said. "I am not a Muslim in their eyes because I am for tolerance and inclusion, and they don't want an Islam that is inclusive."
Posted by Robert at August 20, 2007 6:06 PM
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He (Ellison) doesn't know "how they read what they read?"
He doesn't understand "Kill the Unbelievers" and "Slay the Infidel?" What, you can't read, Keith? You're illiterate, too, like Mohammed?
How does one say, "disingenuous," to describe Mr. Ellison? Or, in Arabic, "taqiyya?"
Posted by: darcy![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.jihadwatch.org/nav-commenters.gif)
at August 20, 2007 6:43 PM
"The people who did 9/11 are hostile to everyone, and in fact if you are not the type of Muslim they want you to be, they would be happy to kill you too," Ellison said."
This coming from the guy who about a month or so ago made the comment that 9/11 was like Reichstag?
He's quite an actor this congressman.
Posted by: gaelen at August 20, 2007 6:46 PM
"The people who did 9/11 are hostile to everyone, and in fact if you are not the type of Muslim they want you to be, they would be happy to kill you too," Ellison said."
This coming from the guy who about a month or so ago made the comment that 9/11 was like Reichstag?
He's quite an actor this congressman.
Posted by: gaelen at August 20, 2007 6:47 PM
Greetings:
Congressman Ellison needs to be pressed on his religious beliefs and those of his fellow Muslims as often as possible to get him on the public record.
Hopefully, his "taqiyya" will eventually catch up with him.
Posted by: 11B40 at August 20, 2007 6:50 PM
Typical misunderstandings of Infidels:
Islam is the religion of Peace, there's just a problem with the piggy Non-Believers, who keep on forcing Muslims into using violence. It's like in that movie, "We don't have anything against Blacks, but they are so ... different.". But of course Islam is not a racialist religion. Non-Believers are the cause of the problem by deliberately existing and being different. It's a plot in order to harm Islam.
Islam is the religion of Peace, when all its enemies, i.e. Non-Muslims, are eliminated, there will probably be peace, apart from some internal faction wars, but that's nothing to do with religion.
Posted by: anon0815 at August 20, 2007 6:56 PM
I beg to differ with Mr. Ellison. After one reading of The Koran, I found the passages advocating violence against the Jews, non-Muslims, the call to warfare and the second-class status accorded to women highly disconcerting.
How can anyone, especially, a Muslim, who has been studying this book since childhood misunderstand the violent, sexist, racist, misogynistic content of this book?
How can the other representatives in The House of Representatives not understand what Islam and its practitioners believe? How about our Senators? Have they actually read this tripe? Does Hitlery Clinton actually believe that she is worth half a man?
How can these dupes and celebrities in the media misunderstand what this religion teaches? Does Rosie O'Donnell actually think that a Muslim rape victim should produce four witness to her rape to prove her credibility? Anyone who tells me they are for women's rights and equality under the law, but also "respects" Islam, is insulting my intelligence.
Perhaps, Mr. Ellison would like to debate Mr. Spencer at JihadWatch where the topic can be discussed in depth. Or, in the alternative, let someone like Michael Savage treat our paragon of Islamic virtue, Mr. Ellison, to a vigorous debate about how Islam teaches its followers to 'turn the other cheek.'
God (not Ba-allah) Save Us from the idiots in Congress and elsewhere who won't take the time to understand what Islam teaches!
Posted by: BurkasforHitlery at August 20, 2007 6:58 PM
As to whether he felt he had a greater sensitivity to the Arab perspective than other congressmen, he said, "I know Islam, I know the religion, I read the Koran every day. When I went to the [Aksa] Mosque, it wasn't just a tourist site for me, it was a holy site. I felt the affinity for it."
Does this Jewish group know what they are sponsering?
Posted by: walterc at August 20, 2007 6:58 PM
Is he trying to sell himself as a 'moderate' now?
Posted by: sheik yer'mami at August 20, 2007 7:03 PM
hey Keith can you read slay the unbelievers?
l guess the IQ for a Democrat politician has made a new low. muslim appoloigist must have their brains hijacked by the same people who did nine eleven.
at August 20, 2007 7:07 PM
from:
http://kavkazcenter.com/eng/content/2007/06/07/8410.shtml
"3. Moderate Muslim - One who follows the middle path as it was said in the Hadith of Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alayhi Wasallam). Contrary to what the Muslims who are labeled as "moderate" by the Kuffars and the Governments, this includes having strong and unyielding Imaan in Allāh and the Hereafter, being harsh against the Kuffars and showing them hatred and enmity until they become Muslim like how Ibrahim (‘alayhis salam) showed us, befriending the true believers (which we will mention next) and being humble with them, waging Jihad against the Kuffars and Murtaddin with the sword, and following all the commandments of Allāh and His Messenger to the best of one's ability.
All of these evidences will be mentioned under the next category of the True Muslim.
4. True Muslim - It is the same as the moderate Muslim and there is absolutely no difference. The best of Muslims amongst the Sahabah were the best of moderate Muslims. He is a Mu'min who desires to give his soul to Allah ‘Azza wa Jall whilst knowing that in return, he will be promised Jannah. The descriptions of such a person are so numerous that it cannot be detailed here. We will give the following ayah and Hadith as examples:
Indeed, Allāh has purchased from the Mu'minin their lives and their properties [in exchange] for that they will have Paradise. They fight in the cause of Allah, so they kill and are killed. [It is] a true promise [binding] upon Him in the Torah and the Gospel and the Qur'an. And who is truer to his covenant than Allāh? So rejoice in your transaction which you have contracted. And it is that which the great attainment is! (At-Taubah: 111)
And He Ta'ala says,
O you who have believed, whoever of you should revert from his religion - Allāh will bring forth [in place of them] a people He will love and who will love Him [who are] humble toward the believers, powerful against the disbelievers; they make Jihad in the cause of Allāh and do not fear the blame of a critic. That is the favor of Allāh; He bestows it upon whom He wills. And Allāh is all-Encompassing and Knowing. (Al-Maidah: 54)
And He Ta'ala says,
Verily, Allāh loves those who fight in his Cause In rows (ranks) as if they were a solid structure. (As-Saff: 4)
And He Ta'ala says,
Indeed there has been an excellent example for You In Ibrāhīm (Abraham) and those with him, when they said to their people: "Verily, we are free from You and whatever You Worship besides Allāh, we have rejected you, and there has started between us and you, hostility and hatred forever, until You believe In Allāh Alone..." (Al-Mumtahinah: 4)
And the Messenger of Allāh (sallallahu ‘alayhi Wasallam) said,
"Whosoever dies without participating in an expedition (i.e., Jihad), nor has the intention to do so, dies on a branch of hypocrisy." [Sahih Muslim]
And in another Hadith:
Saburah bin al Fakah narrated: I heard the Messenger of Allāh say, "Certainly, Shaytan has intercepted the son of Adam on his path towards Islam and told him: "Are you going to become Muslim and leave your heritage and the religion of your forefathers?" But the son of Adam disobeyed him and became a Muslim and was forgiven. Then Shaytan sat for him on his path to hijrah and told him: "Will you make hijrah and leave behind your home and land?"
He disobeyed him and made hijrah. He then sat for him on his path towards Jihad and told him: "Are you going to fight when it is an exhaustion of yourself and wealth? You would go to kill and would be killed and then your wife would be taken and your wealth divided." The son of Adam disobeyed him and went on Jihad." The Messenger of Allāh then said: "Whoever does that, it is incumbent upon Allāh to admit him to Paradise! Or if he dies by his animal striking him he would go to Paradise." [Musnad Ahmad (3/473), an-Nasai (6/21-22) and al-Bayhaqī (2/95); and the Hadith is sahih]
So where do such people that are known as "moderates" in the eyes of the Kuffar go with such ayat and Hadith? Which alley or building can protect them from these miraculous yet forthright verses and traditions?
As is apparent, the Western view and the Islamic view of these terminologies are in total cahoots with each other. For those who attempt to build a bridge between the two worlds, let them know that their wastage of time and effort will always meet with failure and confusion. Such people will always be failures in the sight of Allāh because of their abandonment of al-Walā' wal Barā'ah (loyalty and disavowal); and such people will be in confusion because of their inner-heart conviction with the texts would be rejected by their own selves for the "betterment" of Western society and the "understanding" between the two cultures."
Posted by: AllahSnackbar at August 20, 2007 7:15 PM
"scrutinized by both American Muslims and Jews"
Mr. Herb Keinon left out me, and everyone else who is scrutinizing this creature from the black lagoon.
Posted by: Pelayo at August 20, 2007 7:36 PM
I'm with you, Burqas.
Let me be charitable: I think Ellison is a nice guy, but very naive, confused and has lousy reading skills.
at August 20, 2007 7:38 PM
As far as I am concerned Mr. Ellison, you may say whatever you wish; I would not believe you anyway.
Posted by: witness at August 20, 2007 7:38 PM
"But of course Islam is not a racialist religion."
by anon0815
Well, it is a at least an Arabist religion. It requires memorization of the Quran in Arabic, requires facing the Arabian peninsula when praying, requires wearing Arabic clothing. Most converts choose Arabic names. As Spencer and Fitzgerald have pointed out better that I can, Islam is a vehicle for Arab supremacism.
I believe that even in Indonesia and other non-Arabic speaking countries the call to prayer is recited in Arabic.
Posted by: Pelayo at August 20, 2007 7:46 PM
What was the attraction for Ellison to convert? The permission to hate the "other", that's what.
To be a politician you must stretch the truth.
I'm like witness, nothing he says will register as truth to me.
at August 20, 2007 7:56 PM
Is Pinocchio a Muslim name?
Posted by: profitsbeard at August 20, 2007 8:07 PM
Yes Mr. Ellison , that's correct and since there are only about 0.0008% of the Worlds Muslim living in the USA have you ever considered that YOU have it all wrong and the 99.9992% outside of the USA are the True-Muslims that follow Muhammed to a Tee .
It's unfair for you to blame the 99.9992 %
for the action of the 0.0008% in the USA that misunderstand that Quran and Muhammed's crusade
which is for a Global caliphate and Sharia law.
Ibrahim Hooper tries to portray the Passive
Islam as the norm while he actually practises the Whahabi islam as a puppet for the Saudis .
No Islam
Know Peace
at August 20, 2007 8:14 PM
Imans's, and clerics in madrassas' all over the world must be teaching a different brand of the Qu'ran that many of us,including Ellison have not seen or read apparently. Since the words of Mohammed are considered pure and cannot be abrogated, then if Ellisons version is the correct one then why are we not seeing the so-called moderates speaking loudly day in and day out about how the Qu'ran is being misunderstood from the Philippines to Palestine,from Iran to Pakistan and a hundred other corners of the world. Is it that the rest of the world and in particular the Middle East are locked into the dar al harb with the great Satan? What does Ellison say when he is asked why do Muslims throughout the Middle East refer to America as the Great Satan and Israel as the little Satan? What does Ellison say when he reads the 36 articles of the Hamas Charter? Is that charter compatible with the teachings of the Quran and the hadiths? Is the Qu'ran antisemetic or is that also a fallacy as well? At what point does one concede the written truth that makes up the Qu'ran or as many Muslims have tried to, by saying you cannot understand the Qu'ran unless you can speak Arabic. Yes try telling Wafi Sultan that again, and an army of other former Muslims, never mind that nearly 85 Pct of muslims do not speak Arabic. How long do you think you can lead people to the waters edge and expect them to drink it?. Ellison; if you are not a Muslim in their eyes than you are either an apostate or a non-Muslim---whcih is it??
Posted by: Mackie at August 20, 2007 8:19 PM
There are truths and lies in his comment.
It is true that if he doesn't see islam in the way as Bin Laden and co. see it then he is not a good or TRUE muslim.
For him to foolishly say that he doesn't get out of the Koran what they get out of the koran is a bold faced lie.
How can ANY muslim that is taught from the very same Koran have such a different view? There are not many ways one can interpret calls to murder rape and molestation.
I think Mr.Ellison suffers as a megalomaniac with an extra dose of more powerful than others with his Congressional membership.
I had the pleasure of reading this article yesterday at the JP and some of the comments were less than encouraging,some probably would have elected him president over his vague comments.
They were vague comments in that he was afraid to say anything because his statements would be up for scrutinizing.Or in other words using his allah given rights to not be subjected to debate or questioning.
A future for us to look forward to.
It would also be nice to know what bills it is that he is working on.
Posted by: Dar al-harb at August 20, 2007 8:20 PM
"When I went to the [Aksa] Mosque, it wasn't just a tourist site for me, it was a holy site. I felt the affinity for it."
ellison
I am sure the Jews feel it as a holy site too.One with a very ugly mosque built on top of it.
And i am sure the Jews have a far greater Affinty towards it.
One thing for sure is that the temple that lay in ruins underneath the devils church still holds more truth and divinity than Islam could ever hope to cover up.
Posted by: Dar al-harb at August 20, 2007 8:41 PM
Ellison said. "I am not a Muslim in their eyes because I am for tolerance and inclusion, and they don't want an Islam that is inclusive."
Actually they don't accept him as moslem because he is NOI.
Posted by: interestinconundrum at August 20, 2007 9:25 PM
"They wouldn't consider me a Muslim because I'm American, because I believe in the unity of people and that we are all on the planet to work together."
Mr. Ellison is correct. If he sincerely believes in the unity of people and that we are all on the planet to work together. then he's clearly not a Muslim, or a very bad one.
at August 20, 2007 9:32 PM
taqqiyah, taqqiyah, taqqiyah!!!!
Ellison is full of it...and does NOT reject it in all its forms...so his words are as empty as his head.
at August 20, 2007 9:40 PM
I wouldn't believe this character if he said the sun came up this morning or it is hot in Arkansas in August.
I mean, I've heard nothing from him but lies, half-lies, and spin since he was elected, but I never expected anything else from a mooslime.
Posted by: Rowane at August 20, 2007 10:04 PM
Why did the black muslims (Elijah Mohammed) murder Malcolm X ?
Was he trying to moderate islam, saying the white man (he was part caucasian) was not a devil ?
Followers of islam murdered this brilliant guy who might have made a real contribution to all of us.
islam is a truly evil, intolerant, ideology. with a heritage of murder and other unspeakable events.
Posted by: dgene at August 20, 2007 11:19 PM
dgene, you're mostly right. Malcolm X was killed because he was usurping the popularity of Elijah Muhammad, but he did experience an awakening before he died.
Prior to his pilgrimage to Mecca, he was rabidly anti-white. However, while in Mecca he met Muslims of all races. A man who made a particular impression on him was a white man, also a Muslim, who opened his eyes to the fact that race didn't matter if you had something in common. After he returned, he changed his tune on white people. He believed that they weren't devils, but that they needed Islam.
Of course, his (new) idea of Islam didn't include suicide bombings, female genital mutilation, polygamy, intimidation and threats. As they say, a moderate Muslim is not a true Muslim.
Posted by: Holy Wart at August 20, 2007 11:39 PM
When Ellis went to the Dome of the Rock, and saw those Arabic inscriptions, perhaps he assumed they were canonically Qur'anic. But they are not. Perhaps he, and many others, would like to start reading Christoph Luxenberg on the subject of that Byzantine martyrium, the Dome of the Rock, and what the inscriptions (in Arabic) say, and what they mean, and what they do not mean.
Posted by: Hugh at August 21, 2007 1:04 AM
rowane. i will believe ellison if he says it is hot in arkansas in august but only because that is where i live. but nothing else.
Posted by: no-ilsam-in-ark at August 21, 2007 1:41 AM
Ellison
Do you tolerate White Infidels? You might want to check with Calypso Louis.
Posted by: Infidel Pride at August 21, 2007 2:20 AM
Sorry, Keith, but you are not a Muslim in the eyes of Allah or Mohammed, either. Those Muslims carrying out violence in the name of Allah are actually good, pius Muslims, according to the dictates of the Koran.
I am so sick of this farce that Muslims like Ellison who wouldn't personally engage in terrorism or perhaps not even condone it are the true face of Islam. What nonsense.
Posted by: Ryan Jones at August 21, 2007 4:10 AM
"Ellison
Do you tolerate White Infidels? You might want to check with Calypso Louis.
Posted by: Infidel Pride "
....Ellison studied for several years under Calypso Louie...He hates whites as does Calypso Louie....Calpyso Louie appears on TV from time to time...according to him everything that causes problems in the lives of black people is the fault of whites...crime, drugs, prostitution, jail sentences, black on black murder, home invasions, assaults, rapes, car theft, taxes, low grades in school, the high black student dropout rate, the high number of single parent families, the hate lyrics in rap music, the high incidences of diabetes and heart disease in blacks, the high incidences of alcoholism in blacks, ......you name it , the whites caused it....
when Ellison states "...I'm American, because I believe in the unity of people and that we are all on the planet to work together.", he lies....he hates whites, and he supports Muslims and their hatred towards the freedoms paid for by the blood of Americas great forefathers and citizens of all races,creeds, and colors...Ellison is a slug....
ban Muslim Immigration....
Posted by: exsgtbrown at August 21, 2007 6:08 AM
Clearly, Mr. Ellison is mistaken. Islam is very inclusive.
Mohammedans want to include the entire world and all of its people into Islamic slavery.
Posted by: Abscedere at August 21, 2007 8:57 AM
"I know Islam, I know the religion, I read the Koran every day."
And so when he gets to the fourth sura, or when he reads any other sura for that matter, and considers democratic platforms on womens' rights and gay rights (or how about moral and social worth of anyone who rejects Mohammad as a prophet), why doesn't he leave the party (if he believes the Koran outright) or why doesn't he inform his colleagues and the rest of us, who would really like to know, just how he is making sense of it all? Does he believe what the fourth sura says about women, gays, about polygamy, about inheritance laws, about testimony in court, about the status of women in family and society, about what should be done to someone if he leaves Islam, or what should be done to gays if they do not repent? And that is just the Koran. What does Ellison think about the commentary in the Sunnah on these same issues, texts which most Muslims consider authoritative? Does he agree, for instance, with that peaceful, moderate American ally, Ayatollah Sistani, who believes it all with deep conviction, that unrepentant homosexuals should be killed? Shouldn't he at least warn his gay colleagues in the democratic party about what Sistani, and many other Muslims, are thinking about them and why? And if he does not agree with Sistani on this issue and many, many others, like the value of the kafir (the Infidel, who is najis-morally impure- in the same category as urine and feces), doesn't he have an obligation to inform and explain to the rest of us just how badly even our 'moderate' Muslim allies have misinterpreted Islam? Shouldn't he let the world know what Islam really says on these issues and back that up, as Spencer politely asks him to do above on the issue of jihad?
One wonders what goes on in the mind of Congressman Ellison, self delusion, irrational flights of fancy, denial, or something else.
Posted by: JTF at August 21, 2007 10:58 AM
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