Ellison: 'I Honestly Don’t Believe Most People in the Middle East Hate America'
The congressman told MinnPost in a recent interview that he wants to see the U.S. government get more engaged in the region.
In a recent interview with MinnPost, congressman Keith Ellison (D-MN) said the protests going on in the Middle East lately do not reflect the opinions of the vast majority of Muslims in the area.
Ellison added that he thought the U.S. government should get more engaged in the region:
Our policy ought to be continued engagement with each country in the region and the region at large. ... If you look beneath the surface, what’s going on here is that the regime loyalists and religious extremists who have an undemocratic agenda, who want to impose a religious orthodoxy on everybody for the sake of power, are reacting against the success of the "small-d" democrats in overturning the autocrats across the region ...
We don’t need to get skittish and afraid, "Oh they don’t want us." Who is, "they?" There is no more than a "they" in Libya than there is in America. We have Tea Party people, we have Occupy people, we have Democrats, we have Republicans. They have diverse societies just like we do and they are in a power struggle and that’s we’re seeing taking place.
Ellison went on to say, "I honestly don’t believe most people in the Middle East hate America." You can read the full interview here.
Three Debates in the Works
After a spirted debate at the Minnesota State Fair, it appears that Ellison and Republican challenger Chris Fields will debate three more times before Election Day, according to an Ellison staffer.
Debate times and dates have not been announced. Stay tuned to Patch for updates and full coverage.
Mike McLean
10:44 am on Monday, September 24, 2012
Wonder if he will call voting a right or state it as it actually is which is "a qualified right"??
Greg Staffa
12:55 pm on Monday, September 24, 2012
Keith Ellison believes that all have a voice as long as the voice matches his. If Keith Ellison can't keep his word to a homeless man who will he keep his word to? http://www.gregstaffa.com/Greg_Staffa/Blog/Entries/2012/9/20_Keith_Ellison.html
Michael Rose
5:04 pm on Monday, September 24, 2012
Regarding the last two comments: This post originally contained a preview of a voting rights forum being held Monday afternoon. With that event having passed, we pulled out the preview.
RP45241
10:18 am on Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Who are you kidding, Mr. Ellison...??
Why are we even there??? Who cares about the Middle East? Bring our troops back like you promised!!!
Kathy Rendall
10:51 am on Friday, October 5, 2012
Ellison you are simply unbelieveable. Who are you kidding?? I think your conclusion here is based on the fact that you SAY you're a Muslim. However, I've never met a true devot Muslim, who supports gay marriage. It's clear, you've turned in to a career politican and will say anything to remain in office. You won't get my vote, ever.
Amy Paddock
11:17 am on Monday, October 8, 2012
Kathy, being Muslim in America? First, Keith hasn't always been Muslim, and second, Yes - there are Muslims who do support equal rights for gay including marriage. Just like there are many different opinions who have different ideas, it can also be true for Muslims. Pretty much, it means that no matter religion you aspire to, you can have an opinion and say you support it.