Extremist of the 5th

No stranger to controversy, Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District and first Muslim elected to Congress, Representative Keith “Qur’an” Ellison, speaking to a group last week in Edina, likened the Bush administration’s actions following the attacks of September 11th to those of the Nazis. Ellison, drawing on comparisons to the burning of Berlin’s Reichstag parliament building in 1933 which was seen as a pivotal event in the establishment of Nazi Germany, made the inference to a group of 100 or so Atheists for Human Rights. Speaking of the 9/11 attacks Ellison was quoted as saying, “It’s almost like the Reichstag fire, kind of reminds me of that. After the Reichstag was burned, they blamed the communists for it and it put the leader of that country [Hitler] in a position where he could basically have authority to do whatever he wanted.” Continuing, Ellison went on to explain, “The fact is that I’m not saying it was a [U.S.] plan, or anything like that because, you know, that’s how they put you in the nut-ball box - dismiss you.”

Dare I point out here that Ellison’s remark, or rather inference, was no more “off the cuff” than those of Ann Coulter when she invoked a reference that John Edwards was a “faggot” and of course we all know how well that went over. But, while I’m certainly not dismissing the brash style of the black cocktail dress diva of fiery conservative rhetoric, it is worth noting however that Ms. Coulter is not a politician. Even still, her comment was headline news. While the comments of Keith Ellison on the other hand; nary a mention. And for me, what is most distressing about the comments by a member of Congress, is that while Ellison is wary of being dismissed as a “nut-ball” (of which he is) his ability to tout such a notion is all too convenient while so easily dismissing a lengthy history of Jihadist activity by Muslim extremists the world over for more than thirty years. For example:

March 9, 1977

A dozen Hanafi Muslim terrorists seize 134 hostages in three buildings only blocks from the White House. One man is killed and 12 are wounded in the takeover of the Islamic Center, the international headquarters of B'nai Brith, and the District building, Washington's city hall. They surrender two days later after negotiations with ambassadors of Egypt , Iran , and Pakistan.

February 14, 1979

The U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan dies in hail of gunfire from Afghan troops as others plot to rescue him from four kidnappers in a Kabul hotel room. Just as U.S. officials believed they had persuaded Afghan Interior Ministry officials not to storm the room, a gunshot was heard, spurring the spray of bullets.


November 4, 1979

Tehran , Iran: Islamic students stormed the U.S. Embassy and took 66 American diplomats hostage. Thirteen were soon released, but over 50 remaining were held hostage. President Jimmy Carter applied economic pressure by halting Iranian oil imports and freezing Iranian assets in the United States . On April 24,1980, the Carter administration attempted a rescue mission that failed, when three of the mission's eight helicopters were damaged in a sandstorm. After Ronald Reagan's election in November, successful negotiations began, and Iran released the remaining hostages shortly after his inauguration on January 20, 1981.

November 20, 1979

Mecca : At least 200 Sunni Islamic dissidents seized control of the Grand Mosque at Mecca , one of the holiest sites in Islam, taking hundreds of pilgrims hostage. The standoff lasted for several weeks. Saudi and French security forces retook the shrine after an intense battle in which some 250 people were killed and 600 wounded.

November 21, 1979

Islamabad , Pakistan: The US Embassy is attacked by a mob and set afire, killing four.

Mind you, these are just a mere sampling which of course were followed by countless attacks throughout the eighties and nineties, including the bombing of the Marine barracks in Beirut, the bombings of the U.S. embassies in Africa, the bombing of the USS Cole, and of course the attacks of September the 11th. And yet, throughout the 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s it seemed nearly everywhere you turned there could be overheard someone saying terrorism was coming to America. We might have, of course at the time, thought nothing of it in much the same fashion Representative Ellison does today. Ellison’s failure to place any level of accountability upon Islamist extremists while invoking such a notion is both irresponsible as well as alarming. But then again, considering Ellison’s entire election campaign was so completely void of self accountability from having to respond to supporting radical Symbionese Liberation Army member and domestic-terrorist Kathleen Solia, a.k.a Sara Jane Olson’s actions of the 70’s, to a flurry of unpaid parking tickets, to his ties to Louis Farrakhan’s Nation of Islam. Hardly the makings of “A Great Uniter”.

And yet, throughout that same campaign, it was not this radical historical past of a man soon to become the first Muslim in Congress which drew ire from Minnesota voters. Rather it was the religious faith of our presidential pawing 6th District Representative Michelle Bachman which was deemed a greater threat to Democracy. Suffice it to say, both were elected to Congress. But, in Ellison’s case his election win had more to do with the liberal idiots of the 5th who opted not for bringing class or tact into Washington but instead, opted for their ever treasured love of all things “diverse”. And, to then say that Representative Ellison represents the current face of diversity, having inferred as a member of the United States Congress that our sitting President orchestrated the massacre of nearly 3,000 civilians for political purposes, makes him nothing less than one more Muslim extremist amongst many in this 30 year history of Jihadist activity.
So, in closing, am I suggesting Representative Ellison step down or that other House members censure him? You might infer…