Early life, education, and career

Keith Ellison, the third of five sons, was born and raised Roman Catholic in Detroit, Michigan, by his parents Leonard Ellison, a social worker and a psychiatrist, and Clida (Martinez) Ellison. Ellison and three of his brothers became lawyers; his other brother became a doctor. One of Ellison's brothers is also the pastor of the Baptist "Church of the New Covenant" in Detroit. Ellison's youth was influenced by the involvement of his family in the civil rights movement, including his grandfather's work as a member of the NAACP in Louisiana.

Ellison graduated in 1981 from the University of Detroit Jesuit High School and Academy, where he was active in sports and a senator in the student government. At age 19, while attending Wayne State University in Detroit, Ellison converted from Catholicism to Islam, later giving the following explanation: "I can't claim that I was the most observant Catholic at the time . I had begun to really look around and ask myself about the social circumstances of the country, issues of justice, issues of change. When I looked at my spiritual life, and I looked at what might inform social change, justice in society... I found Islam."

After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in economics in 1987, Ellison married his high-school sweetheart and moved to Minneapolis to attend the University of Minnesota Law School. While there, he wrote several articles in support of Louis Farrakhan of the Nation of Islam. Ellison graduated with a Juris Doctor in 1990.

Ellison and his former wife Kim, a high-school mathematics teacher, had four children between 1989 and 1997: a daughter, Amirah, and three sons, Jeremiah, Elijah, and Isaiah. Kim Ellison is not Muslim, but their four children have been raised in that faith. During Ellison's 2006 campaign, Kim Ellison revealed that she had been living with moderate multiple sclerosis for several years. Ellison filed for a legal separation from Kim in 2010, and their divorce was finalized on May 2, 2012.

After law school, Ellison worked for three years at the firm of Lindquist & Vennum, where he was a litigator specializing in civil rights, employment, and criminal defense law. Ellison then became executive director of the nonprofit Legal Rights Center in Minneapolis, which specializes in the defense of indigent clients. Upon leaving the Legal Rights Center, Ellison entered private practice with the law firm Hassan & Reed Ltd, specializing in trial practice. Ellison has also been regularly involved in community service. He served as the unpaid host of a public affairs talk program at KMOJ radio, and has also often volunteered as a track coach for several organizations, working with youth between the ages of 5 and 18. He said, "It’s a great community-building device because it’s for all ages and all genders. Everyone can find a way to fit in."

Minnesota House of Representatives

In November 2002, Ellison was elected to his first public office, as a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives serving House District 58B. At the time he took his seat, his party was the smallest House minority in Minnesota history. During this session, Ellison was appointed to the Governmental Operations & Veterans Affairs Policy Committee, the Judiciary Policy & Finance Committee and the Local Government & Metropolitan Affairs Committee. He also spearheaded an ethics complaint against Rep. Arlon Lindner for a speech Lindner made that Ellison alleged amounted to a denial that homosexuals were targeted by the Nazis and killed during the Holocaust.

Ellison was reelected to his seat in 2004 with 84% of the vote. During the 84th session, he served on the Civil Law & Elections Committee and the Public Safety Policy & Finance Committee. Upon his election to Congress, Ellison's seat in the Minnesota House of Representatives was filled by Augustine Dominguez, a Latino community activist and fellow member of the DFL.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

See also: United States House of Representatives elections in Minnesota, 2012 § District 5

Ellison's House seat was previously held by Martin Olav Sabo, whose announcement of his intention to retire precipitated Ellison's candidacy. At the DFL Convention on May 6, 2006, Ellison won the party endorsement over 9 other candidates, leading 2-to-1 on the first ballot, and winning endorsement on the 4th ballot. In the primary, Ellison faced former state senator Ember Reichgott Junge, Minneapolis city council member Paul Ostrow, and Sabo's chief of staff Mike Erlandson, whom Sabo had endorsed. Ellison won the primary on September 12, 2006, with 41% of the vote. One issue Ellison's campaign opponents raised was the repeated suspensions of his driver's license for failure to pay tickets and fines. Ellison had also failed to pay all or part of his income taxes in five separate years between 1992 and 2000, forcing the state and Internal Revenue Service to put liens on his home. He later paid in excess of $18,000.

In the November 2006 election, Ellison faced Republican Alan Fine, the Green Party's Jay Pond, and Tammy Lee of the Independence Party. Ellison won the seat with 56% of the vote.

Tenure

Ellison was elected to the House of Representatives on November 7, 2006, and sworn in on January 4, 2007. He garnered national attention with his decision to use an English translation of the Qur'an that once belonged to President Thomas Jefferson for his reenacted swearing-in ceremony, which generated praise and criticisms from political pundits.

At the time of his swearing in, Ellison said he intended to focus on wages, housing, "relief and justice for the middle class", and ending the U.S. involvement in the Iraq War. Ellison was also a vocal critic of President George W. Bush's administration, and sought a position on the House Judiciary Committee for oversight.

In his first week as a member of Congress, Ellison voted with the new Democratic majority as part of the 100-Hour Plan to raise the minimum wage, for federal funding of stem cell research, and to allow Medicare to negotiate pharmaceutical prices.

On April 3, 2014, Ellison introduced the Money Remittances Improvement Act of 2014 (H.R. 4386; 113th Congress) into the United States House. The bill would make it easier for nonbank financial institutions such as money service businesses to provide remittance payments internationally. Ellison said that "passage of the Money Remittances Improvement Act is cause for celebration for all diaspora communities, including the Somali and Hmong communities I am proud to represent in Minnesota."

Credit reform

On May 3, 2007, Ellison introduced a bill to outlaw universal default, the practice whereby credit card companies raise interest rates on customers who are behind on payments to other creditors. The bill was supported by House Financial Services Committee chairman Barney Frank. Ellison, who described the bill as "the beginning of a whole credit reform effort we're going to be pursuing," also announced his interest in limiting high interest rates on credit cards and easing the process for those who have a legitimate need to file bankruptcy. This provision ultimately became law in 2009 as part of the "Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights" portion of the Credit CARD Act of 2009.

Committee assignments

• Committee on Financial Services (1/12/2007 to present day)
  • Subcommittee on Capital Markets and Government-Sponsored Enterprises
  • Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations
    • Terms on Committee (and "Thomas" links at the Library of Congress): 113th Congress (H.Res. 7 - Dem's), 112th (H.Res. 39 - Dem's), 111th (H.Res. 24) and 110th (H.Res. 56).

See Note Below.

• Committee on Foreign Affairs
  • 111th Congress, 2009-2010 (H.Res. 74
• Judiciary Committee
  • 110th Congress, 2007-2008 (H.Res. 75)

Caucus membership

• Congressional Progressive Caucus (Co-chair)

Political positions

Abortion

In 2009 and 2011, Ellison had a 100% rating from NARAL Pro-Choice America indicating a pro-choice voting record. In 2009, Ellison condemned the assassination of Dr. George Tiller by an anti-abortion activist, saying "There is no room in America to ‘justify’ murder in the name of ideological differences. I condemn the act committed against Dr. Tiller as well as those who take comfort from his death."

LGBT rights

In an interview with the BBC's program Outlook, on November 12, 2010, Ellison was asked to describe his constituents. He answered: "The district I represent is the kind of district where you can have a Member of Congress stand up for religious tolerance and against religious bigotry, against anyone, but also stand up for the rights of gays too."

Iraq War

After President George W. Bush vetoed HR 1591 that provided military funding for the Iraq War because it contained timetables for withdrawal, Ellison and fellow Minnesota Rep. Betty McCollum, joined House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other top House Democrats in voting "no" to HR 2206 that provided the funding without any timetables. The bill passed the House on a 280 to 142 margin.

Ellison joined fellow Minnesota freshman Democrat Tim Walz in opposing President George W. Bush's plan to increase troop levels in Iraq. On January 10, 2007, Bush announced his plans for the Iraq War troop surge of 2007. The gist of this announcement had been known around the Capitol for over a week, and when the Associated Press asked Ellison for his reaction to the idea on January 8, 2007, he stated that it was "way too late, way too little.... So rather than do something small and ineffective, why not get about the business of what we're going to have to do eventually, which is to begin to end the occupation?" Ellison called for an immediate withdrawal in Iraq: "We could describe it as a redeployment or withdrawal, but I think we have run the course in terms of our ability to resolve this conflict militarily. I think we need to have a political and economic and diplomatic engagement, and we need to encourage the forces that are in Iraq to begin to resolve the violence in Iraq." When asked if he would support Bush’s call for an additional $100 billion to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Ellison said, "I want to see first, I want to actually look at it, but I'm not inclined to continue to support a war or an occupation that he has no plans to get us out of, and which is so costly in terms of dollars and lives of American soldiers but also Iraqis." The White House, when asked for a reaction to the comments, referred to a previous statement by press secretary Tony Snow: "Democrats will have to decide where they stand on two issues: ‘No. 1, do you want Iraq to succeed, and, if so, what does that mean? And, No. 2, do you believe in supporting the troops as you say, and how do you express that support?’"

Bush administration

On July 25, 2007, Ellison voted in the House Judiciary Committee to issue citations of Contempt of Congress to White House Chief of Staff Joshua Bolten and former White House Counsel Harriet Miers for "failure to comply with subpoenas on the firings of several federal prosecutors".

On June 28, 2007, Ellison became a cosponsor of Rep. Dennis Kucinich bill to impeach Vice President Dick Cheney for "high crimes and misdemeanors." Ellison's spokesperson, Rick Jauert, said the effort was "largely to send a message" and that Ellison "has no illusions that this is going anywhere and that's fine. We've got more important things to do that affect people's daily lives. He basically signed on out of principle, as an expression of the importance of the rule of law — that nobody is above the law, not even the vice president."

On July 8, 2007, Ellison gave a speech in Edina, Minnesota, where he denounced Bush's commutation of Lewis Libby's sentence: "If Libby gets pardoned, then he should not have the cover of the Fifth Amendment. He's going to have to come clean and tell the truth. Now, he could get Gonzales-itis, you know, with 71 lapses of memory within a two-hour period." He also criticized Bush's White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives saying, "This is basically the Department of Religious Outreach.... It's essentially a public-relations outreach arm for the Bush administration to reach out to the far right of the evangelical Christian movement. That's really all it is."

Human rights

Ellison issued a statement Friday March 21, 2008 that criticized the Chinese government for its Tibet policy and for its relationship with Sudan's leaders 'as they commit genocide on the citizens of Darfur.'

Ellison was arrested along with seven other people including U.S. Representatives James McGovern, John Lewis, Donna Edwards, Lynn Woolsey for civil disobedience in April 2009 when they spoke at the Sudanese Embassy in Washington, D.C. to protest that the president of Sudan, Omar al-Bashir, had asked international aid groups bringing food, health care and water, to leave Darfur. While in Khartoum in August 2009, Ellison wrote a message on Twitter saying he "ran straight into Pres. Omar Bashir. He has been indicted by the Inter'l Crim. Ct. (ICC) for war crimes."

2016 U.S. presidential election endorsements

Ellison was the second U.S. Representative to endorse Bernie Sanders for President in the 2016 election, after Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ).

Travels abroad

Middle East

In late March and early April 2007, Ellison was a member of a congressional delegation on a "fact-finding trip to the Middle East." The group included Representatives Henry Waxman, Tom Lantos, Louise Slaughter, Nick Rahall, Dave Hobson, who were led by then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The delegation visited the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the Western Wall. Ellison called his visit to Islam's third-holiest site, the Al-Aqsa Mosque, as "personally moving". The group met with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and discussed the peace plan devised by the Saudis in 2002. The delegation also met with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

The group's visit to Syria was criticized by the Bush administration, which restated its view that the United States should not have diplomatic relations with state sponsors of terrorism. While there the delegation conveyed a message from Olmert to Syrian President Bashar Assad that "Israel is interested in peace if Damascus stops supporting terrorism". In Lebanon the group met with Prime Minister Fouad Siniora and Speaker Nabih Berri. They also visited the grave of Rafik Hariri and met with his son Saad Hariri. In Saudi Arabia the group spoke to King Abdullah and his Shura Council of advisors. They praised his peace plan and advocated a greater role for women in his nation's political process. Ellison's inclusion in the delegation was praised by council member Abdul-Rahman al-Zamel. Ellison called the king a "visionary leader" and that "Even being in the same country where Mecca and Medina are located was personally uplifting for me." Ellison also said he hoped his presence as a Muslim among the delegation conveyed a message to the Israelis and Palestinians that "people can come together. Reconciliation is possible."

Iraq

On July 28 and 29, 2007, Ellison was among an "all-freshman bipartisan congressional delegation" visiting Iraq, arranged by Defense Secretary Robert Gates and led by Rep. Jerry McNerney. Before the trip, Ellison told reporters that he would be stopping over in Germany to visit wounded U.S. soldiers being treated there. He also stated that he respected any politician who visited Iraq, making note of Republican Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty who went in February, 2007, along with five other Governors. Ellison said, "If this country is going to ask these young people to stand in a war zone, their political leadership should visit them." In Iraq the delegation met with Iraqi and U.S. military officials, including Gen. David Petraeus.

Israel and the Palestinian territories

Soon after returning home from his trip to Iraq, Ellison joined with 19 other representatives on a week-long trip to Israel sponsored by the American Israel Education Foundation. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer led the group and personally invited Ellison to join them for a stay from August 12-18, 2007. The group met with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Ellison's spokesperson told reporters that the trip was "a natural extension of his visit to Iraq" and that "the Middle East peace issue is important to the diverse communities of his Minneapolis-area district — from the Jewish Community Relations Council to the patrons of the Holy Land Middle Eastern eatery on Lake Street and Central Avenue. He hears about it every time he goes back to his district." The group traveled to Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, the northern Galilee region, and Ramallah, and viewed the Israeli border with Lebanon.

During this trip, Ellison stated that Israel did not permit him to travel to Gaza, where a conflict was occurring. In a 2009 interview with reporter Shihab Rattansi, Ellison expressed his disappointment at his inability to see the humanitarian situation for himself. In the same interview, he called for a more open discussion on Gaza, stating: "The people who have a strong sympathy for the Israeli position... dominate the conversation. And it’s really not politically safe to say, look, there are two sides to this, and Israel has not been an angel in this, and certainly there have been people on the Palestinian side who have not contributed to a constructive solution."

During the Summer 2014 conflict between Hamas and Israel, Ellison published an editorial in The Washington Post that called for an end to the blockade in Gaza. Citing his 3 trips to Gaza since 2009, Ellison suggested that empowering Gazans by ending the blockade would weaken extremists and help move towards final status peace.

Gaza and Sderot

On February 19, 2009, Ellison and fellow Representative Brian Baird visited Gaza to view firsthand the destruction from the Gaza War and to meet with international and local relief agencies, including the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East. This visit, which Ellison and Baird say did not have the official sanction of the Obama Administration, was the first time any U.S. government official had entered Gaza in more than three years. Ellison had this to say about what he saw:

“

The stories about the children affected me the most. No parent, or anyone who cares for kids, can remain unmoved by what Brian and I saw here.

”

The following day, Ellison and Baird visited the Israeli towns of Sderot and Ashkelon, which were the targets of numerous Qassam rocket attacks, repeatedly launched from within the Gaza strip.

Norway

Ellison visited Norway in January 2008 because of Norway's prominent role in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, and because of the Norwegian-American heritage of many of his constituents. While there, Ellison met with former Norwegian Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik, then president of the Oslo Center for Peace and Human Rights. The Star Tribune reported that the "trip underscores Ellison's desire to play a role in the international peace movement."

Africa

In mid-2008, Ellison joined a U.S. House Democracy Assistance Commission delegation that traveled to six African countries, including Liberia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malawi, Mauritania and Kenya. "The people of the 5th Congressional District know that, in this globalized world, to have peace and security relies on other people having a modicum of peace and security," Ellison said upon returning. He attended a July 4 reception at the U.S. ambassador's residence in Nairobi, Kenya, where Ellison met Sarah Hussein Onyango Obama, the step-grandmother of then-presidential candidate Barack Obama.

Advocacy for American Muslims

With his victory to the United States House of Representatives Ellison became the first Muslim elected to the Federal Government and the highest Muslim elected official in the United States, with Congressman André Carson elected in 2008, as the only other Muslim serving in the U.S. Congress. Ellison’s election has been seen as inspirational to American Muslims, and he encourages civic empowerment through participation in the political process. Ellison generally "downplayed the role of religion in his drive for office," but he has become active in advocacy for Muslim American civic engagement and civil rights causes on a national level since.

North American Imams Federation

On November 18, 2006, Ellison gave a speech called "Imams and Politics" to the Fourth Annual Body Meeting of the North American Imams Federation. The Federation's materials presented the issues to be outlined in Ellison's speech as follows: "Many Muslims around the United States are involved in political activities at different levels. Recognizing the sensitivity of political issues and the potential for divisiveness within the communities as a result of divergent political views, Imams must be able to provide Muslims with the proper guidance and educate them on the etiquettes of any political involvement within the Islamic context. Questions also arise on whether Imams and Islamic centers should be involved in politics at all and what the extent of this involvement should be, therefore Imams should have the ability to address these concerns. Overall, it is important that Imams are aware and understand the general political climate of their communities and be especially conversant with the issues that affect Muslims." Ellison also took part in "Community Night" with Imam Siraj Wahhaj, and Imam Dr. Omar Shahin. This was "for Imams to meet and interact with community members." Some of the participants of this meeting became involved in the Flying Imams controversy after being removed from an Arizona bound plane for "concerning behavior". Ellison became involved in this controversy shortly after it erupted when he attempted to arrange a meeting between parties including US Airways executives, the Metropolitan Airports Commission, and other legislators and community members.

MOSES interfaith group

On December 27, 2006, Ellison spoke at a meeting in Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in Detroit for Metropolitan Organizing Strategy Enabling Strength (MOSES). The meeting was with leaders from the Catholic, Muslim, and Arab-American communities, along with members of the organized labor movement. He told those in attendance that the principles of Islam guide his life, but he has no intention of imposing his faith on others, "I'm not a religious leader, I've never led religious services of any kind. I'm not here to be a preacher, but in terms of political agenda items, my faith informs me." He addressed the Qur'an Oath controversy of the 110th United States Congress and said that he hoped religion could be a uniting, rather than a dividing force: "They've never actually tried to explore how religion should connect us, they're into how religion divides us. ... They haven't really explored ... how my faith connects me to you."

Promoting US with the State Department

Two months after taking office, Ellison met with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and other top State Department officials to talk about "showcasing his story as part of their public diplomacy efforts in the Muslim world." According to the Star Tribune, Ellison was "profiled three times by the State Department’s overseas press bureau." He also "did a Voice of America interview from his office, where an American flag was placed conspicuously behind his desk for the cameras." In the interview which was set to play in the Middle East and South Asia, Ellison stressed global inclusiveness and quoted verse 49:13 of the Qur'an "Oh humanity, we created you from a single pair..." Ellison also accepted the Bush administration's request to be part of a "teleconference with Karen Hughes, the State Department's undersecretary for public diplomacy. The White House has asked that the teleconference promote American values and confront ideological support for terrorism around the world." The Voice of America applauded Ellison's cooperation saying "He is the most famous freshman congressman in the world."

It was noted that after he took his oath of office he was surrounded by the foreign press, intrigued in part by the oath controversy, who "had to be ushered out of his office after he took his oath to make room for home-state news crews." Ellison has been "featured in a series of articles written for foreign dissemination by the Department's Bureau of International Information Programs." Including an article that was translated into Persian and Arabic that "highlighted the diversity of his constituents in Minnesota, ranging from Swedes and Norwegians to 'the largest Somali immigrant community in America.'" In his work in cooperation with the state department, Ellison stresses the religious freedom available in the US, saying things like "religious tolerance has a much longer pedigree in America than some of the intolerance we've seen lately." Even in his work with the State Department he remained critical of President Bush's Iraq policy saying "he wants people around the world to know that 'there are many Americans who want to relate to the rest of the world in terms of cooperation, not military domination.'" Ellison staffers told reporters that "the State Department has shown no signs of squeamishness about publicizing his criticism of the war." When asked about working with elements of the Bush administration Ellison said "Hey, my country first. We can work out our political differences later. I've said I'm willing to do whatever I can to make some friends for America."

Issues and controversies

Qur'an oath of office

Main article: Qur'an oath controversy of the 110th United States Congress

Because Ellison converted to Islam from the Roman Catholic faith, he stated an intent to use the Qur'an instead of a Bible at his photo-op reenactment of the swearing-in ceremony (the official ceremony is done en masse without any books), conservative columnist Dennis Prager wrote a column criticizing his decision. This drew responses from organizations such as the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the American Family Association, and the Anti-Defamation League.

Representative Virgil Goode of Virginia, responding to "scores and hundreds of emails" from his constituents after the Prager articles, has also stated his view that Ellison's decision to use the Qur'an is a threat to "the values and beliefs traditional to the United States of America". He also wrote, "...if American citizens don’t wake up and adopt the Virgil Goode position on immigration there will likely be many more Muslims elected to office and demanding the use of the Qur'an."

CNN reported that on the opening day of Congress, Ellison met Goode on the House floor to shake hands and Goode accepted an offer to talk over coffee. That same day during his oath reenactment, Ellison used a two volume Qur'an once owned by Thomas Jefferson and loaned to Ellison by "the rare book and special collections division at the Library of Congress"; coincidentally, Jefferson's home at Monticello was actually located in Goode's district. According to Ellison, "it demonstrates that from the very beginning of our country, we had people who were visionary, who were religiously tolerant, who believed that knowledge and wisdom could be gleaned from any number of sources, including the Qur'an." Historian Kevin J. Hayes in his article How Thomas Jefferson Read the Qur'an explained that Jefferson purchased the book in 1765 while studying for the bar exam to become a lawyer.

President Barack Obama in an address to nations with a majority Muslim population made in Cairo, Egypt on June 4, 2009 cited this event as an example of the continual positive impact he believes Muslims have had on America, saying, "And when the first Muslim-American was recently elected to Congress, he took the oath to defend our Constitution using the same Holy Qur'an that one of our Founding Fathers—Thomas Jefferson—kept in his personal library."

Interview with Glenn Beck

On November 14, 2006, Glenn Beck of CNN Headline News said to Ellison, "I have been nervous about this interview with you, because what I feel like saying is, 'Sir, prove to me that you are not working with our enemies.' And I know you're not. I'm not accusing you of being an enemy, but that's the way I feel, and I think a lot of Americans will feel that way." Ellison replied that his constituents, "know that I have a deep love and affection for my country. There's no one who's more patriotic than I am, and so you know, I don't need to — need to prove my patriotic stripes."

When asked by Beck about his opinion on "Muslim extremists" Ellison replied, "They're criminals. But I think that people who commit criminal acts should be treated like criminals, regardless of their faith." Ellison has also said, "Osama bin Laden no more represents Islam than Timothy McVeigh represented Christianity." Asked about the incident later, Ellison dismissed it, "It's just shock TV. Some pundits think they have to ask the most outrageous questions."

On January 2, 2007, Beck said on his radio program that Ellison did not take offense at the comments and the two had a friendly chat off the air. On January 9, 2007, at the Television Critics Association's semiannual press tour, Beck said it was "Quite possibly the poorest-worded question of all time." He clarified by saying, "My point to Keith Ellison... is the same point that I make to my own faith, and that is — you must stand up before things get out of control ... And it's important for people of all faiths, when someone is hijacking their religion, to stand and say, 'That is not what we do. That is not who we are."'

Louis Farrakhan and history with the Nation of Islam

As a law student in 1989 and 1990, Ellison wrote several columns under the name "Keith E. Hakim" in the student newspaper, the Minnesota Daily. Washington Post Staff Writer Alan Cooperman said that Ellison's articles "defended Farrakhan against accusations of anti-semitism," and that Ellison "called affirmative action a 'sneaky' form of compensation for slavery, suggesting instead that white Americans pay reparations to blacks."

Denunciation of the Nation of Islam

During Ellison's 2006 campaign, Minnesota Republican operatives raised questions about the articles and his involvement with the Nation of Islam. In response, Ellison wrote a letter to the Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota & the Dakotas asserting he had never been a member, and that his connections with the Nation of Islam were limited to an 18-month period during which he helped organize the Minnesota contingent at the 1995 Million Man March. In Ellison's letter, he denounced the Nation of Islam and Farrakhan, writing "I wrongly dismissed concerns that they were anti-Semitic. They were and are anti-Semitic and I should have come to that conclusion earlier than I did." He explained his previous views, saying that he "did not adequately scrutinize the positions and statements of the Nation of Islam, Louis Farrakhan, and Khalid Muhammed." He also stated, "any kind of discrimination and hate are wrong. This has always been my position". During the 2006 campaign, many prominent Jewish DFL activists supported Ellison, including fundraisers Samuel and Sylvia Kaplan, and State Representative Phyllis Kahn, who said it was "inconceivable that he could have ever been an anti-Semite."

Campaign contributions from members of CAIR

During the 2006 election Nihad Awad, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and James Yee, the former Muslim chaplain at Guantanamo Bay, spoke at an August 25 fundraiser for Ellison. Awad and Ellison knew each other as they attended the University of Minnesota Law School at the same time. According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Ellison accepted individual contributions from Nihad Awad and another leader of CAIR; Ellison responded that he had fully disclosed all contributions and asserted that he had "nothing to hide". Ellison stressed that he was supported by individuals, and that the non-profit organization itself did not endorse his candidacy.

His Republican opponent in the race, Alan Fine, criticized Ellison for accepting these contributions, asserting that CAIR was "a group that Democrats say has deep ties to terrorism". In response to Ellison's opponents, CAIR leaders Parvez Ahmed and Nihad Awad wrote "We are proud of our personal donations to Ellison's campaign" and derided any 'guilt by association' arguments.

Campaign finance violations

In early 2006, the Minnesota State Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board reprimanded Ellison for unreported campaign contributions, discrepancies in cash balances, and misclassified disbursements during his campaigns for the Minnesota House of Representatives. These transgressions occurred in the years 2002-04. In 2005, the board opened an investigation, and Ellison was subpoenaed and fined.

Ellison was repeatedly fined for late filings, was sued twice by the Attorney General of Minnesota, and was warned about absent or incomplete disclosures.

Reichstag fire and 9/11

On July 8, 2007, Ellison discussed the power of the executive branch in a speech before the organization Atheists for Human Rights. He stated that Dick Cheney asserted it was "beneath his dignity in order for him to answer any questions from the citizens of the United States. That is the very definition of totalitarianism, authoritarianism and dictatorship." He went on to say, "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. The fact is that I'm not saying September 11 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."

Fox News picked up the story and their commentator John Gibson categorized Ellison's comments as accusing "Bush of planning and executing the 9/11 attacks". In Congress, Representatives Eric Cantor and Zach Wamp wrote House Speaker Nancy Pelosi demanding she "swiftly and immediately" reprimand Ellison for his remarks. The letter said "Even if Ellison asserts that he was not implying that 9/11 was orchestrated by the administration, the comparison he draws between Hitler and the President of United States is disgraceful. These comments inflame hatred and division at a time when we should be promoting our unity and reconciliation." The Anti-Defamation League also stated "Whatever his views may be on the administration's response to 9/11 and the conduct of the war on terrorism, likening it to Hitler's rise to power and Nazism is odious and demeans the victims of 9/11 and the brave American men and women engaged in the war on terror. Furthermore, it demonstrates a profound lack of understanding about the horrors that Hitler and his Nazi regime perpetrated."

Clarification

When later questioned about his comments, Ellison told a reporter that Osama bin Laden, and not the Bush administration, was responsible for the attacks. Ellison also said, "In the aftermath of a tragedy, space is opened up for governments to take action that they could not have achieved before that." He pointed to the Iraq War and provisions granting greater arrest and surveillance powers within the USA PATRIOT Act as examples. Ellison said also "In response to a question, I stated that the Bush Administration exploited post-9/11 fears to advance a policy agenda that has undermined our civil liberties. I stand by this statement. ...I want to be clear that the murderous Nazi regime is historically distinct and the horror of the Holocaust must be acknowledged as a unique event in human history. I did not intend any direct comparison between the totalitarian state of Nazi Germany and the current administration. I have taken consistent and strong stands against Holocaust denial throughout my life in public service."

Sali remarks

Representative Bill Sali of Idaho drew criticism for his comments in an August 8, 2007 interview with the conservative Christian-based American Family News Network. Sali, an outspoken Evangelical Christian, denounced the Senate leadership for allowing a Hindu to lead the opening prayer, claiming that the non-Christian invocation threatened to endanger America by removing "the protective hand of God." He went on to say, "We have not only a Hindu prayer being offered in the Senate, we have a Muslim member of the House of Representatives now, Keith Ellison from Minnesota. Those are changes and they are not what was envisioned by the Founding Fathers. The principles that this country was built on, that have made it great over these centuries, were Christian principles derived from Scripture. You know the Lord can make the rain fall on the just and the unjust alike."

Former Democratic Idaho congressman Richard Stallings, among others, demanded that Sali either apologize or resign. In response Sali sent Ellison an email saying he "meant no offense." Ellison was in Iraq with a congressional delegation. His spokesperson said "The congressman just doesn't respond to comments like that." Sali stressed to reporters that he was not calling for Ellison to be removed, saying, "He got elected the same way I did. People certainly have the right to elect anyone they want", but he defended his claim about America's founding principles, saying, "The idea that somehow we can move to multiculturalism and still remain the same — I think that's a little dangerous, too. From my standpoint, I believe the Founding Fathers were overwhelmingly Christian and the God they were talking about is the God of the Bible." When asked about his policy discussions with those of other faiths, Sali said, "I would say, 'These are principles that I think are important,' and if he agrees with those, great. At the end of the game, maybe it does get down to religious beliefs and how they impact how you make public policy." It was noted in a New York Sun editorial that claims that the founders did not anticipate Muslim legislators are incorrect. The specific subject was brought up in many of the State conventions to ratify the Constitution, including remarks by William Lancaster in the 1788 North Carolina Ratifying Convention.

Awards

Ellison was chosen by the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee for its Trailblazer Award. The group said Ellison "has established a career of advocacy focused on promoting civil and human rights, peace, and prosperity for working families." He was named an Utne Reader visionary in 2011.

Memoir

In January 2014, Ellison's first book, My Country 'Tis of Thee, was published.

Electoral history

Minnesota House of Representatives

Minnesota House of Representatives - District 58B, 2004
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Keith Ellison	10,796	84.1	+17.6
	Republican	Jay Ceril Mastrud	1,988	15.5	+1.49
Minnesota House of Representatives - District 58B, 2002
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Keith Ellison	5,714	66.54	-
	Republican	Larissa Presho	1,212	14.11	-
	Independent	Duane K. Reed	726	8.45	-
	Green	Bonnie J. Smith	480	5.59	-
	Independence	Jay Ceril Mastrud	440	5.12	-

US House of Representatives Minnesota 5th congressional district election, 2014 Party Candidate Votes % ±% Democratic Keith Ellison 167,079 70.8 -3.7 Republican Doug Daggett 56,577 24.0 -1.2 Independence Lee Bauer 12,001 5.1 - Minnesota 5th congressional district election, 2012 Party Candidate Votes % ±% Democratic Keith Ellison 262,101 74.5 +6.8 Republican Chris Fields 88,753 25.2 +1.1 Minnesota 5th congressional district election, 2010 Party Candidate Votes % ±% Democratic Keith Ellison 154,833 67.7 -3.2 Republican Joel Demos 55,222 24.1 +2.1 Independent Lynn Torgerson 8,548 3.7 - Independence Tom Schrunk 7,446 3.3 -3.6 Minnesota 5th congressional district election, 2008 Party Candidate Votes % ±% Democratic Keith Ellison 228,753 70.9 +14.9 Republican Barb Davis White 71,013 22.0 +.66 Independence Bill McGaughey 22,315 6.9 -14.11 Minnesota 5th congressional district election, 2006 Party Candidate Votes % ±% Democratic Keith Ellison 136,060 55.56 - Republican Alan Fine 52,263 21.34 - Independence Tammy Lee 51,456 21.01 - Green Jay Pond 4,792 1.96 -

[ Source: Wikipedia ]