FREDERIC J. FROMMER
Last week, Dennis Prager, a conservative talk radio host and columnist, criticized Ellison, D-Minn., for choosing to use the Quran, rather than the Bible, during his ceremonial swearing-in.
"I don't agree with Dennis Prager, but I think it's absurd to rescind his appointment on the Holocaust board," said Coleman, a Minnesota Republican who serves on the board with Prager.
In his column last week, Prager had written: "Insofar as a member of Congress taking an oath to serve
That prompted the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a civil rights group, to ask President Bush to remove Prager from the board.
Coleman, who like Prager is Jewish, said that even though the Jewish Bible includes only the Old Testament, he uses a Bible that includes both the Old and New Testaments.
"I placed my hand on the Bible," he said. "People can make that choice themselves. And so I disagree with Mr. Prager, but I certainly also disagree with the notion that he should be removed from a position on the Holocaust board."
Coleman said he knows Prager well, adding, "I've broken bread with him - on many issues, I agree with Dennis Prager. I think he's a brilliant man on a whole range of things. But I disagree with him on this one.
"First of all, I think it's a ceremonial act, people have a right to worship in their way, and this is what Keith Ellison chose to do. From my perspective, he had that right. It's freedom of religion in this country."
Source: AP, Dec 11, 2006