Obama singles out Ellison at dinner

Article by: Star Tribune
Updated: September 2, 2009 - 9:19 PM

U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., sat down for dinner at the White House on Tuesday night and got a personal shout-out from President Obama.

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Rep. Keith Ellison

Photo: John McIntyre,

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U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., sat down for dinner at the White House on Tuesday night and got a personal shout-out from President Obama.

Ellison was attending a dinner commemorating Ramadan, along with other members of Congress, the Cabinet and dozens of members of the diplomatic corps.

At the top of his remarks to his guests, Obama singled out Ellison and Rep. Andre Carson, D-Ind., as "the first two Muslims to serve in Congress."

Ellison had the distinction of being the first, when he was elected in 2006, and gained worldwide media coverage. Carson became the second when he was elected two years later.

The dinner was part of Obama's ongoing attempt to improve the United States' often-strained relations with the Muslim world.

"Islam, as we know, is part of America," he said. "We also celebrate how much Muslims have enriched America and its culture -- in ways both large and small."

It wasn't the first time Obama has focused a spotlight on Ellison. When he addressed the world's Muslims during a speech in Cairo in June, he also mentioned Ellison, one of the first members of Congress to support his presidential campaign.

In that speech, Obama mention that Ellison "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."

BOB VON STERNBERG

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