Rep. Keith Ellison defends Muslim Syrian refugees’ First Amendment rights

Rep. Keith Ellison, who in 2007 became the first Muslim member of Congress, on Wednesday cited the Constitution’s protection of freedom of religion to blast his colleagues’ proposals to allow Christian Syrian refugees into the U.S. refugees but not Muslims refugees from that country.

Asked about his reaction to proposals from lawmakers such as Republican presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas to block Muslim Syrian refugees as a precaution against allowing Islamic State terrorist into the country, Mr. Ellison said that he had a simple repines.

“I say, ’Congress shall make no law establishing a religion or [prohibiting] the free exercise thereof,’ ” the Minnesota Democrat said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”

“That is the first clause of the first amendment,” he said. “You know, these folks are letting fear make them forget our constitution and they shouldn’t do it. The fact of the matter is that we don’t do that. That’s not who we are as a nation.”

President Obama’s plan to allow 10,000 Syrian refugees into the U.S. has met fierce resistance form lawmakers and governors who are concerned that Islamic State terrorist could infiltrate the country by hiding among the refugees.

Those fear followed evidence that at least one of the Islamic State terrorist involved in the Paris attack entered the country disguised as a Syrian refugee.

Mr. Ellison also said that singling out Muslims as potential enemies was “a big mistake” because it reinforce the Islamic States’ recruiting message.

“Their primary argument is that the West is at war with Islam and Islam is at war with the West,” he said. “If we start saying we’re letting in Christians but no Muslims, aren’t we reinforcing their narrative.”

He continued: “We have to say they are not representing anything but totalitarian murderous extremism and we represent civilization, civility, tolerance, inclusion. That’s who we are and that’s who they are and we shouldn’t forget that.”