Islamic Group Demands U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council Appointee Be Ousted

An Islamic group is demanding that a conservative talk show host and columnist, Dennis Prager, be ousted from the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council because of his statement that a Muslim just elected to Congress should be required to be sworn in using a Bible, not a Koran.

In a syndicated column last week, Mr. Prager asserted that a new Democratic congressman from Minnesota, Keith Ellison, was tearing at the bulwarks of American society by seeking to use the Muslim holy book at his swearing-in next month. "He should not be allowed to do so — not because of any American hostility to the Koran, but because the act undermines American civilization," Mr. Prager wrote. "Insofar as a member of Congress taking an oath to serve America and uphold its values is concerned, America is interested in only one book, the Bible. If you are incapable of taking an oath on that book, don't serve in Congress."

The Council on American-Islamic Relations, known as Cair, said yesterday that Mr. Prager's comments were so outrageous that he should be removed from the Holocaust board, which oversees the Holocaust museum in Washington. "No one who holds such bigoted, intolerant, and divisive views should be in a policy-making position at a taxpayer-funded institution that seeks to educate Americans about the destructive impact hatred has had, and continues to have, on every society," the group said.

Mr. Prager also came under fire from the Anti-Defamation League, which called his statement "intolerant, misinformed, and downright un-American." The ADL stopped short of calling for Mr. Prager's ouster from the Holocaust panel, but took particular aim at the commentator's suggestion that allowing Mr. Ellison to use the Koran would do more to harm America's fabric than the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

Amid the hail of criticism, Mr. Prager retreated a bit yesterday. The commentator said he would be satisfied if Mr. Ellison, who will be the first Muslim member of Congress, had both a Koran and a Bible present at his swearing-in. "Keith Ellison has a big responsibility and he can do a lot of calming and uniting if he just brings both texts," Mr. Prager told listeners to his radio program. He also denied any anti-Islamic motivation.

Mr. Prager called the Bible "the most central document in our society" and said officeholders should pay tribute to it whether they believe it is God's word or not. "I'm not asking for any theological affirmation," the talk show host told MSNBC. "Atheists have taken their oaths with the Bible," he said.

Mr. Prager, who mentioned repeatedly that he is a Jew, said he would use the Bible for an oath even though it contains the New Testament, which Jews do not recognize as authentic. "It is as a Jew that I am aware of the fragility of all civilizations, including ours," he said. "Europe is secular and is a failing civilization. … I don't want America to become Western Europe. I want America to remain America, and it does so when we honor the Bible."

Mr. Prager's argument drew a mixed reaction in conservative circles. Several callers to his program yesterday said they disagreed with him, including some who said they tended to agree with him on other matters.

A law professor at the University of California at Los Angeles, Eugene Volokh, disputed Mr. Prager's position as well as some of the facts he asserted. Mr. Volokh said requiring Mr. Ellison to use a Bible would violate the Constitution's ban on religious tests for public office.

While the commentator referred to the use of the Bible for swearing-ins as an "unbroken" tradition in America, Mr. Volokh noted that two presidents, Pierce and Hoover, chose to affirm rather than swear their oaths of office. Other critics noted that the formal, group swearing-in for Congress uses no religious books at all. Bibles are involved only in small, ceremonial events staged by individual members.

Some conservative Christians stood by Mr. Prager. The Reverend Donald Wildmon of the American Family Association urged his group's members to "pass a law making the Bible the book used in the swearing-in."

A spokeswoman for Mr. Ellison said last night that he was traveling and unavailable for comment.

It was not immediately clear whether Cair's call for Mr. Prager's ouster would have any impact. The group's request was directed to the chairman of the Holocaust council, Fred Zeidman. He has no obvious authority to remove the talk show host, who was appointed to the council by President Bush in August.

Cair's credibility as an advocate for tolerance could also be undercut by its own links with Islamic groups that the government has accused of being fronts for terrorism. Cair describes itself as a "a grassroots civil rights and advocacy group," but at least three of its officials have been convicted of terrorism-related offenses. The organization has denied any connection to terrorism, but also has criticized nearly every terrorism-related prosecution brought by the federal government.

A White House spokeswoman had no comment last night on the controversy. Mr. Zeidman did not return a call seeking comment for this article.