Congressman Sworn in on Qur'an?

A Newsweek poll released on Friday indicates that 12% of American voters still believe that Senator Barack Obama was sworn in to Congress while holding a Qur'an. It seems that such people keep getting him confused with someone else.

I blogged about this event several times back in 2006, when Representative Keith Ellison (D-MN) was elected to represent his district in the House of Representatives. A long-time convert to Islam, Ellison was the one who caused a bit of controversy over his decision to swear on the holy book of his own faith, the Qur'an. And why shouldn't he have? An About.com poll at the time found that 57 percent of readers had no problem with Ellison's decision, recognizing that one should swear on a book that has meaning to the person making the oath. A further 20% voted that religious texts should not be part of a government swearing-in ceremony in the first place.

It is clear that the American public still is confused by a public figure who has such a rich and varied background as Senator Obama. But in a time when being Muslim is somehow perceived as suspicious and evil, let the record show that Senator Obama has never believed in Islam.

Photo: Rep. Ellison is sworn into Congress while holding a Qur'an, in January 2007. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)