Muslim group decries Minnesota woman’s repentance prayer about Ellison’s election

As the Minnesota Day of Prayer was being held at the State Capitol Thursday, the Muslim Public Affairs Council called on the National Day of Prayer Task Force to repudiate a statement made by a Minnesota woman (pictured) at Saturday’s “May Day 2010: A Cry To God For A Nation In Distress” event at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington. The group, which has offices in Washington and Los Angeles, calls the woman’s statement  — that Minnesota should “repent” for not using “godly wisdom” in electing Congress’ first Muslim member, Rep. Keith Ellison — “appalling.”

Citing the Minnesota Independent’s report on the event, MPAC called on the National Day of Prayer Task Force to “repudiate the statement, and urged elected officials and religious leaders to reject such bigotry by calling for mutual understanding and mutual respect.” (It’s unclear whether the task force, which organized the May 6 National Day of Prayer, was directly involved with the May Day event.)

“This type of bigoted and hateful rhetoric directed at a member of Congress is a startling indication of the rapid spread of anti-Muslim rhetoric from the right,” said Haris Tarin, the Director of MPAC’s Washington, DC office. “Congressman Keith Ellison has served the people of Minnesota and our country with the utmost respect, dignity and patriotism. This type of dangerous rhetoric only serves to divide our country and pit citizen against citizen. The National Day of Prayer should serve its original purpose of embracing America’s religious diversity to strengthen its national unity, not to actively undermine it.”

MPAC says it’s seeking to meet with organizers of the May Day event and, specifically, the still-unidentified woman who referenced Ellison’s faith, in order to “foster greater understanding of Islam and Muslim Americans.”