Keith Ellison: «I did not expect to become a symbol»
- Interview of Keith Ellison (D-Minnesota), the first muslim Representative elected to US Congress.
Keith Ellison, after you stated your intention to take oath on the Quran, you became the target of attacks by some conservatives but also a symbol of religious tolerance in the US. Did you expect to have such an impact ?
-No I did not expect to become a symbol. I campaigned because I wanted to talk about peace, about Iraq, about the problems of the middle class and about universal healthcare for my fellow Americans. To find myself in the middle of a controversy was a surprise but I am used to it. And moreover, the vast majority of people demonstrated a tremendous religious tolerance. All the people of my community came together to support me.
-But how do you feel after having been depicted as a menace to the judeo-christian values of America ?
-It tells me that a Muslim elected official is something new in this country and like in any country in the world, people here react to what is new.
- On December 24 2006, you spoke to a Muslim conference in Dearborn and said : «You can’t back down. You can’t chicken out. You can’t be afraid. You have got to have faith in Allah and to be a real Muslim». Is being a Muslim in America a challenge ?
-Being Muslim nowadays in the US is as challenging as it was to be a woman when they did not have the right to vote or as it was to be Black when Afro-American had to fight for equality with White people. 9/11 made things more challenging for us but we have to stand up and make a positive contribution to this country.
-And what about your plan for Iraq ?
I want us to get out of Iraq. But we have to do it in a way that can help the Iraqis have a political solution. In November 2006, the American public said overwhelmingly that we need a change of cours. I want to fight for it.
Jean-Cosme Delaloye / Minneapolis
Please the related story “Ellison, the Muslim Congressman who haunts conservatives”
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