A national furor has been set off by conservative talk show host, Dennis Prager, because Minnesota Democrat, Keith Ellison, the nation’s first African American Muslim elected to Congress has elected to take his oath of office on his book of faith, the Holy Quran. In one of the most dramatic “much ados about nothing,” Prager engaged the latest tirade of “Muslim bashing” by suggesting in his column on Townhall.com that Ellison shouldn’t be allowed to take the oath of office on January 4, 2007, “not because of any American hostility toward the Koran [sic], but because the act undermines America culture". My question to Dennis Prager is, how does it undermine American culture? Are we not “one nation under God?” We know that the other part of that line—you know, the “indivisible, with liberty and justice for all (some)” is a stretch…but we’re pretty clear that God is in the mix (I think). We know the First Amendment covers all religions. When did we become “One nation under Christians”?

Prager’s insistence that Ellison must put his hand on the Bible, or he somehow must have his allegiances questioned is just the latest variable of how Blacks must always have their patriotism doubted when their practices are not in complete concert with so-called “American" values. Instead of focusing on how Ellison can be part of the new change in Congress, he has to spend his time responding to Prager after 800 comments were posted on the Townhall.com blogsphere, and Ellison had received hundreds of unfavorable e-mails that can only be attributed to the continuing anti-Islamic sentiment fueled by the continuing Muslim backlash associated with the Iraqi War. Ellison has responded, asserting that his First Amendment rights guarantee his ability to take his oath as his beliefs may allow, but he shouldn’t have to defend himself on such a fundamental question. This is religious persecution.

The Constitution guarantees freedom of expression of religious ideas, freedom of religious practice (free exercise) and the Constitution protections us from infringement upon our religious beliefs—the very things which caused religious separatist to leave the Church of England and their native land, in search of a “New England” and new religious practices. This also amounts to a religious test—a test of beliefs as a prerequisite to serve in the government. The Constitution also prohibits the giving of religious tests. The whole relativist politic that allows Conservatives to avail themselves to their own set of truths doesn’t entitle them to their own set of facts (as the late New York Senator Daniel Moynihan once said). Prager didn’t stop at framing the truth as he sees it. He now is trying to frame his own set of facts, by stating on Tucker Carlson’s show that “we (America) get our laws from the Constitution but we get our values from the Bible.” Oh really? I guess that’s why we (America) have poverty, homelessness, unabashed wealth and social injustice. The Bible gave us those values? That sounds about as crazy as the rest of the ideological spin that’s dumped on us. From the questioning of people’s patriotism in the face of what we know (and knew from the start) were lies about the war, you knew it was only a matter of time before the religious tests came. How un-American is that?

I could probably spent my next three columns questioning where you find some of the more precious American values, like greed and decadence, in the Bible, but one thing I know you find in the Bible—constantly, God smiting societies that forced belief systems on the people that have little to do with God’s will. Whether you recount the experiences of Moses, Abraham, David or Jesus, they were all involved in returning society to the true meaning of God and went against “the established belief orders of the day.” This whole movement to smoke out “subversive elements” in the “terrorist hunt” was bound to end up with, “if you believe in God-swear on the Bible.” Just as the threat to our nation became a threat to our conscious opposition to what we know is right, the threat to our belief system is becoming a threat not just to what we believe God is—but how we believe God delivers us. America is not a Christian nation, not when it takes God out of everything we do. The politicians, nor the businessmen (the moneychangers) hold to religious principles. Hell, the “men of God” barely hold to religious principles.

America is a nation that tolerates religions while free markets define society’s values. Money is America’s God, and money defines America’s truth—that which is popular amongst the ideologues. Prager is confusing American values with American culture—which has rarely been right when it comes to social justice. Now it’s failing the test on religious justice—justice always being a relative term in America. If Ellison’s act undermines American culture as Prager says, it’s because American culture is not standing for right. Not what is truly right and just, in the eyes of God, and even in America’s own Constitution.

Ellison’s oath is a Constitutional test, just as the whole civil rights movement was a constitutional test. Every time the true meaning of the Constitution, what America itself put on paper, is tested, you have folk like Prager (who is not the first in history to put cultural values above right-minded values) who speak out to twist rightness, truth and justice. There is nothing unjust about what Ellison has chosen to do. There is nothing illegal about what Ellison has chosen to do. There is nothing unethical about what Ellison has chosen to do. The only thing about Ellison taking his oath of office on the Quran, is that it is unpopular because of the political climate. Remember, the sighting of Jesus became unpopular when the political climate didn’t believe who he was, nor subscribe to his message. But no man or woman of truth, who does what is truly right, does it because it’s popular. His persecution made him no less true or right. But God prevailed. We are still one nation under God—not one nation under ideological relativists who only want law (and now scripture) to stand for what they want it to stand for. This is where the relativists get it twisted.

This is probably how President Bush got it twisted too. Bush is on record saying he was right on the war because God told him to go into Iraq. Only he wasn’t true nor was he right—He was just relative. Keith Ellison is true to his belief and he is right in his conviction. And he has the Quran, the Bible and the United States Constitution on his side. Ellison supports one nation under God. It’s a truth not even Dennis Prager can manipulate, and a set of facts not even he can change.

Anthony Asadullah Samad is a national columnist, managing director of the Urban Issues Forum and author of 50 Years After Brown: The State of Black Equality In America. His website is AnthonySamad.com. Click here to contact Mr. Samad.

is published every Thursday.