Do you think someone running for public office who is muslim?

Question

should be allowed to be sworn in to oath on the Holy koran rather than the holy Bible? This is taking place now, whats to say a scientoligist then couldnt swear on a copy of Dianetics Curious to what you think

Answer 1

u know what - i never thought of or knew that. It really burns me up. What happened to what our nation was founded on? What happened to Christian principles - the REAL ONES? Pretty soon we are not going to be able to be called Americans. We are not united anymore,we r divided.

U know, my brother is in IRaq fighting for the rights and safety of this country - what for? we r handing our rights over. there is no reason to fight for them. we r just laying down like dogs and lettiing the rest of the world be our masters. Yes, we are dogs - compared to the Lord. I bow and worship Him no one else, no other person, 'god', religion, country NO ONE!! We need to stand up for what we believe n! Thanks for bringng this to our attention

Answer 2

There is another way to take an oath of office that would not offend anyone. It is the same oath that is used in a court of law when someone (the late Marlon Brando) tells the court he cannot swear according to regular procedure. The court then can and did administer another oath to Mr. Brando and the court hearings continued.

The point is...If someone says he cannot be a part of to the normal swearing ceremony, he may be doing his constituency a favor by telling the truth instead of taking the oath of office that means nothing to the person being sworn in.

And, the way people in public office perform the duties of their office, I think many of them should begin swearing on something else besides anything religious.

Perhaps many people who are elected to public office should swear on their favorite comic book character, i.e., the adventures of Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, etc. This way we would know exactly what to expect during their tenure in office.

Answer 3

Not only is "this taking place NOW," (emphasis added) - it's been taking place for a long time.

Both Franklin Pierce and Herbert Hoover chose to affirm their oath of office, rather than swearing on any document or holy book.

Keith Ellison is a good man. He's going to be a good Congressman. Let's all take a deep breath and just get along.

Answer 4

I feel that the practice of being sworn into oath using any religious material is a violation of the separation between church and state. What if an atheist or agnostic is being sworn in? There is no point forcing people to be sworn in using the Bible, given that the US is founded on religious freedom.

Answer 5

Whoa. That's one of the best questions I've read. My knee jerk answer would be yes. One should swear on what the person feels is his or her guiding factor. I couldn't swear on anyone's holy book, but the one I recognize as my guiding force. Otherwise it would be meaningless.

EDIT Swearing on any holy book is not a violation of the 1st amendment. Where no one is focred to do so(the fact of the matter is every president to date has been a Christian.). Separation of church and state is violated more profoundly when some one is NOT allowed to express it freely. No one of any faith should have it surpressed. To do otherwise is to violate the constitution in both the spirit and the letter.

Answer 6

Yet another reason mixing religion and politics is simply a terrible idea.
Officeholders should be sworn in on the Constitution, not a religious book. Perhaps then they might actually protect and defend it.
Alternatively, the secular affirmation could be used. "I affirm..." Then there's nothing at all religious about the ceremony.

Answer 7

I think that a person who is a citizen of this country should be allowed to hold public office.....and not all citizens are christian....by the way...the Constitution says "seprerations of church and state" meaning, in my mind, that we should not be swearing on the bible anyways....and anyone who is not christian should be allowed to swear on whatever religion the practice. And if a person is athiest then they should just have to swear.

Answer 8

Seperation of church and state... You do not have to swear over a bible if you do not want to. That is sort of out dated now anyway. If you swear over the bible and get caught lying I am sure you're more afraid of what the government would do to you rather than GOD.

Answer 9

Absolutely! It is his/her Holy Book. It wouldn't make sense to have them swear on a Bible.
What about an avowed atheist? No book would be of meaning.
A vow is a vow is a vow, to paraphrase Gertrude Stein. If you do not value your word, then no book or symbol will make you keep it.

Answer 10

I think that anyone no matter what religion swears on the bible b/c of the certain religious prefererances that the founding fathers had.

Answer 11

Absolutely not. Islam specifically disallows separation of church and state. In fact, the entire religion revolves around the concept of enslaving the state to Islam (the word Islam itself actually means SUBMISSION). By swearing in on the Quran, you are making a specific oath to ignore your duties under the system of government and to, instead, use your position to bring that government into a state of slavery to Islam. That is fundamentally inappropriate in a democracy. In fact, for any muslim to legitimately serve in a democracy, he must become an apostate (someone who disobeys the religion to the point he is no longer welcome). Islam simply demands of muslims that they work to subvert the government until it is replaced by Islam. You are not allowed to disagree. If you refuse, you aren't kicked out of Islam. You are killed. An apostate is simply someone who hasn't been killed......yet.