Racist Republican Verbally Attacks Muslims

December 22nd, 2006

Washington, D.C. - Racist Virginia congressman Virgil Goode has told some constituents that unless immigration is tightened, "many more Muslims" will be elected.

Senator John Warner (R-VA) released a statement yesterday that he disagreed with Goode in which he offered that he respects the right of all members of Congress to freely "exercise the religion of their choice, including those of the Islamic faith utilizing the Quran."

Spokesman Linwood Duncan said Goode's letter was written in response to "complaints" his office received about Minnesota Rep.-elect Keith Ellison's request to be sworn in using the Quran.

Goode has refused to show the letters he claimed were complaints.

"Islamophobic remarks send a message of intolerance that is unworthy of anyone elected to public office. There can be no reasonable defense for such bigotry," Corey Saylor of the Council on American-Islamic Relations told reporters this week.