Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress who was under attack by Republicans and far right wing commentators for taking his ceremonial oath on the Koran. Not just any Koran, however:

Yet the holy book at tomorrow’s ceremony has an unassailably all-American provenance. We’ve learned that the new congressman — in a savvy bit of political symbolism — will hold the personal copy once owned by Thomas Jefferson.

“He wanted to use a Koran that was special,” said Mark Dimunation, chief of the rare book and special collections division at the Library of Congress, who was contacted by the Minnesota Dem early in December. Dimunation, who grew up in Ellison’s 5th District, was happy to help.

That’s a great idea.

(via Obsidian Wings)