The E-Sylum:  Volume 10, Number 1, January 7, 2007, Article 13

CONGRESSMAN SWORN IN WITH THOMAS JEFFERSON'S QURAN

Nothing numismatic in this item, but bibliophiles should appreciate it.
New Congressman Keith Ellison made history Thursday a becoming the first
Muslim member of Congress and taking the ceremonial oath with a Quran
once owned by Thomas Jefferson.

"'Look at that. That's something else,' Ellison, D-Minn., said as
officials from the Library of Congress showed him the two-volume
Quran, which was published in London in 1764.

"A few minutes later, Ellison took the ceremonial oath with House
Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., at his side.

"Although the Library of Congress is right across the street from
the Capitol, library officials took extra precautions in delivering
the Quran for the ceremony. To protect it from the elements, they
placed the Quran in a rectangular box and handled it with a green
felt wrapper once inside the Capitol.

"The Quran was acquired in 1815 as part of a more than 6,400-volume
collection that Jefferson sold for $24,000 to replace the congressional
library that had been burned by British troops the year before, in the
War of 1812. Jefferson, the nation's third president, was a collector
of books in all topics and languages.

"Ellison's mother, Clida Ellison, said in an interview that she thought
any controversy over her son's choice was good, 'because many people in
America are going to learn what the diversity of America is all about.'
She described herself as a practicing Catholic."

To read the complete article, see: Full Story

  Wayne Homren, Editor

	coinbooks.org Web

The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization 
promoting numismatic literature. See our web site at coinbooks.org.

To submit items for publication in The E-Sylum, write to the Editor 
at this address: whomren@coinlibrary.com

To subscribe go to: https://my.binhost.com/lists/listinfo/esylum