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Rep. Virgil Goode Asked To Apologize For Anti-Muslim Remarks
December 20, 2006 10:14 a.m. EST
<DIV>Ayinde O. Chase - All Headline News Staff</DIV>
Washington, D.C. (AHN) - Late Tuesday night the Council on American- Islamic Relations (CAIR) called on Rep. Virgil Goode (R-VA) to apologize for anti-Muslim remarks he made in a recent letter to a constituent.
Goode's letter to the head of the local Sierra Club chapter became public and by some accounts slammed the planned use of the Quran for the ceremonial swearing-in of Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress.
In the letter Goode wrote, "I do not subscribe to using the Koran in any way."
He continued by saying, "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 Koran."
In a surprising turn in the letter, Goode also denounced the growth of the American Muslim community. He wrote, "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."
TPMuckracker.com reports he also proudly recounted his retort to a Muslim student who asked him why he did not include the Quran with The Ten Commandments on his wall.
"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 Koran is not going to be on the wall of my office," he said he told the student.
It's important to also note that it's been reported Keith Ellison has traced his family's roots in America to the year 1742.
"Representative Goode's Islamophobic remarks send a message of intolerance that is unworthy of anyone elected to public office," said CAIR National Legislative Director Corey Saylor. "There can be no reasonable defense for such bigotry."
Saylor also said Goode should apologize for his remarks and has even gone so far as to offer to set up a meeting between the congressman and members of the Muslim community in his district.
However, Goode is standing by his comments and told the C-Ville Weekly, "I wrote the letter. I think it speaks for itself."
The brouhaha over the use of the Quran in Representative-elect Ellison's ceremonial oath began when Dennis Prager, a member of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council, wrote in a commentary that swearing an oath on the Quran "undermines American civilization."
The resulting backlash from his comments has also prompted members from the Muslim community to ask that Prager be removed from the taxpayer-supported council.
December 20, 2006 10:14 a.m. EST
<DIV>Ayinde O. Chase - All Headline News Staff</DIV>
Washington, D.C. (AHN) - Late Tuesday night the Council on American- Islamic Relations (CAIR) called on Rep. Virgil Goode (R-VA) to apologize for anti-Muslim remarks he made in a recent letter to a constituent.
Goode's letter to the head of the local Sierra Club chapter became public and by some accounts slammed the planned use of the Quran for the ceremonial swearing-in of Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress.
In the letter Goode wrote, "I do not subscribe to using the Koran in any way."
He continued by saying, "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 Koran."
In a surprising turn in the letter, Goode also denounced the growth of the American Muslim community. He wrote, "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."
TPMuckracker.com reports he also proudly recounted his retort to a Muslim student who asked him why he did not include the Quran with The Ten Commandments on his wall.
"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 Koran is not going to be on the wall of my office," he said he told the student.
It's important to also note that it's been reported Keith Ellison has traced his family's roots in America to the year 1742.
"Representative Goode's Islamophobic remarks send a message of intolerance that is unworthy of anyone elected to public office," said CAIR National Legislative Director Corey Saylor. "There can be no reasonable defense for such bigotry."
Saylor also said Goode should apologize for his remarks and has even gone so far as to offer to set up a meeting between the congressman and members of the Muslim community in his district.
However, Goode is standing by his comments and told the C-Ville Weekly, "I wrote the letter. I think it speaks for itself."
The brouhaha over the use of the Quran in Representative-elect Ellison's ceremonial oath began when Dennis Prager, a member of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council, wrote in a commentary that swearing an oath on the Quran "undermines American civilization."
The resulting backlash from his comments has also prompted members from the Muslim community to ask that Prager be removed from the taxpayer-supported council.
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