A challenger to Muslim Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) had his web ad, which featured graphic images of murdered non-Muslims and the House member swearing to the Koran, pulled from YouTube for violating the site's terms of service last week, Hopkins Patch reports.
"Congressman Ellison swore an oath to uphold the Constitution," says Ellison's Democratic challenger Gary Boisclair, "on a Koran." He continues, "The Koran says Christians and Jews are infidels. The Koran says Christians are blasphemers who should have their hands and feet cut off and that they should be crucified and killed." He asks, "Do you really want someone representing you who swears an oath on a Koran, a book that undermines the Constitution and says you should be killed?"
(You can watch the ad here, via the Minnesota Independent.)
Boisclair, who works for the anti-abortion group Society for Truth and Justice, told Patch that one of the "sub-goals" of his candidacy is to allow the airing of graphic anti-abortion ads.
Ellison was indeed sworn in using a Koran -- a copy owned by Thomas Jefferson.
"I'd like to thank YouTube for removing the ad because it violated the company's 'policy on shocking and disgusting content,'" said Ellison in a statement. "The people of Minnesota's Fifth Congressional District elected me to uphold our Constitution, which guarantees freedom of religion for every American."
One of Ellison's opponents in 2010 -- and possibly 2012 -- independent Lynne Torgerson, attacked Ellison for his Muslim faith. She wrote that Islam advocated "criminal behavior," adding "we simply went too far with Keith Ellison. Keith Ellison simply is not a proper person to have in our federal government."
Ellison's constituents in Minneapolis and its environs, however, have consistently voted for him. He has been re-elected twice, winning by over forty points each time.
