IS THIS WHAT ELLISON WANTS AMERICA TO LEARN FROM ISLAM?

In a previous TAB post, Always On Watch noticed Rep. Keith Ellison's exhortations to an enthusiastic Muslim audience. Rep. Ellison (D. - MN) was quoted in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune (in the Detroit Free Press story by Niraj Warikoo) as saying:

"Muslims, you're up to bat right now. . ." he said. "How do you know that you were not brought right here to this place to learn how to make this world better? How do you know that Allah, sallalahu aleyhi wasallam," (meaning peace be upon him) "did not bring you here so that you could understand how to teach people what tolerance was, what justice was? ... How do you know that you're not here to teach this country?"

Well, how do we know that Muslims were not brought "here so that [they] could understand how to teach people what tolerance was" -??? I'll tell you how. Read this report in The Australian (Hat tip: Charles Johnson) regarding religious tolerance in Malaysia:

LAWYER Malik Imtiaz Sawar seems a most unlikely person to attract death threats. A small, softly spoken, friendly man, the impression he gives is above all one of consideration.

What has earned him the death threats is his appearance in court on behalf of Lina Joy, a case that has become a battleground of Malaysian political and cultural identity, and of freedom of religion.

The case highlights what some analysts believe is the Arabisation of Malaysian Islam, a dynamic that can also be seen in Indonesia.

Lina Joy was once a Muslim but has converted to Christianity. She didn't do so to make any broad point or to lead any social movement. It was entirely a private decision. But in Malaysia the state takes official notice of your race and religion.

Lina Joy tried to get herself deregistered as a Muslim and reregistered as a Christian. As a Muslim she is not allowed to marry a Christian man and any children she has must be brought up as Muslims.

When the state authorities refused to accept her conversion she appealed to the courts on the basis of Article 11 of the Malaysian constitution, which guarantees freedom of religion.

The case, in which judgment could be given at any time, has polarised Malaysia. Many Muslims believe apostasy - changing your religion - is not only a sin but should be punishable by death.

The report is entitled "Death of religious tolerance in Malaysia."

Is that what Rep. Keith Ellison thinks that Americans should be learning? Implementing sharia law and punishing apostasy from Islam with death?

As Patrick Henry said, "Forbid it, Almighty God."