Keith Ellison made history last month when he became the first Muslim member of Congress. Given the climate we live in today, I am certain that he fully expected to get attacked.

For example, a short while after the election, Ellison was on the Glenn Beck Show on CNN and had to deal with Beck’s ignorance as he was asked to convince Beck that he was not “working with our enemies” because, of course, if he is a Muslim he must, by default, be in league with terrorists.

Now, another right-wing hack has come out of the woodwork with more nonsense. Dennis Prager, right-wing radio host, posted a column on Townhall.com in which he expresses his ire about Ellison’s intent to take his oath of office on the Qu’ran instead of the Bible.

Prager’s column touched off a firestorm that was only fueled by more right-wing talking heads like Sean Hannity.

The problem: Prager got it all wrong!

No holy book, Bible or other, is used in the official swearing in of Congress. In a statement issued by the Anti-Defamation League, the facts are laid out and Prager is checked quite nicely, also:

Prager’s patriotic prattling is misinformed on the facts, too. No Member of Congress is officially sworn in with a Bible. Under House rules, the official swearing-in ceremony is done in the House chambers, with the Speaker of the House administering the oath of office en masse. No Bibles or other holy books are used at all. Members may, if they choose, also have a private ceremony with family and friends. At these unofficial ceremonies, Members frequently solemnize the event by taking an oath while holding a personal family Bible.

Prager ridiculously asserts that permitting Rep. Ellison to take the oath of office would “be doing more damage to the unity of America and to the value system that has formed this country than the terrorists of 9-11.” What he fails to understand is that what truly unifies all Americans is a value system built on religious freedom and pluralism, not dogmatism and coercion.

Prager presents intolerant, ugly views. His comparison of Ellison’s desire to “choose his favorite book” to that of the right of a racist elected to public office to use Hitler’s Mein Kampf is outrageous. If Prager were merely a blogger and radio talk-show host trying to be relevant and provocative, these views might not merit a response. But as a newly-appointed member of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council, Prager and his views must be held to a higher standard.

I don’t know what’s worse — Prager getting it so wrong or so many media outlets more interested in reporting the controversy than in getting the facts straight.

Popularity: 37% [?]

Perhaps people who think like radio host Michael Savage only exacerbate an already testy situatation.

I have found that, in this country, too many people don’t exercise common sense or do any research for themselves in order to understand the world around them. Instead, they operate in narrowminded hate and fear because it’s intellectually-comforting and convenient to do so.

This brings me to Michael Savage and his loyal followers. In regards to the deplaning and detention of 6 Muslim imams in an airport last week (for praying, of all things), rather than say nothing and be thought a fool, he opens his mouth and removes all doubt.

Basically, he calls for making the construction of mosques in the U.S. and the speaking of anything but English in public, illegal. This is just the tip of his stupidity. Here’s more in the clip below:

 

 Michael Savage Anti-Islam rant [2:24m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Popularity: 49% [?]

Blair Underwood as Jesus? Samuel L. Jackson as the voice of God?

We always knew that there were black figures in the Bible but, now, we get some black voices to help bring them to life. “Inspired By … The Bible Experience: New Testament” combines the New Testament with some of Hollywoods’ black heavyhitters.

In addition to the aformention Underwood and Jackson, the project also utilizes the talents of Denzel Washington, Cuba Gooding Jr., Angela Bassett and Alfre Woodard.

How huge a hit is it? Well, the publishing company’s (Zondervan) top seller has been the “New International Version Audio Bible”, which sells an average of 60,000 units per year. In the roughly 2 months since it has been releases, “The Bible Experience” has sold over 70,000 units.

So, we learned 2 things today.

1. There is a huge market for religious material targeted at certain racial/ethnic groups.
2. Samuel Jackson can do a project without cursing.

Popularity: 21% [?]

Unlike a lot of folks, I don’t have beef with Rev. Al. I don’t agree with him all the time but, unlike many, I don’t have some visceral hatred of him just because the white establishment does not hold some favorable view of him. Unlike many “black leaders”, elected or not, he speaks his mind and does not mind speaking in front of those he is criticizing.

This is why I was so heartened to hear that Rev. Sharpton recently took it to the Christian right for focusing almost exclusively on abortion and gay marriage and not addressing other issues of concern to black folks.

“We have been inundated in the faith community with bedroom sexual morality issues and not dealing with the broader moral issues of poverty, of injustice and of health care,” the Rev. Al Sharpton told reporters Tuesday.

Don’t get me wrong. I see nothing wrong with the church dealing with the abortion and gay marriage debate. But, what happened to things like helping the poor and making sure that all people get social justice, not just the ones who can afford it?

So, props to Rev. Sharpton. I may not agree with him on a lot of things but, when he’s right, he’s right.

Popularity: 17% [?]

Time and time again, I have heard white Christians say, when confronted with the possibility of Jesus being a person of color, that the color of Jesus should not matter.

Well, that’s about to be put to the test.

A new film coming out this Friday, titled “Color of the Cross”, will tell the story of the last 48 hours of Jesus’ life. But, here’s the kicker — Jesus is black and his race figures in as part of his persecution.

Here’s what the director and star Jean Claude LaMarre says about the film:

“Black people in this country are the only race of people who worship a god outside their own image,” says LaMarre, 38, adding that showing Christ as a black man is “the most poignant way to deal with the issue of race in this country because it goes to the heart of how we look at the world.”

Right now, the film will only run in 30 theaters in predominately black communities. Let’s hope for a much wider run of this film.

Popularity: 15% [?]