Free Republic

Andre Carson was elected in Indiana in a special election on Wednesday, becoming the second Muslim in Congress. Carson was elected to fill the seat left vacant after his grandmother, Democratic Congresswoman Julia Carson, died last December. Andre Carson, 33, is a member of the Indianapolis City Council who converted to Islam about a decade ago. The first and only other Muslim member of the US Congress is Rep. Keith Ellison of Minnesota, also a Democrat, who is in his first term. Unlike Ellison who sparked controversy for swearing his oath on a Koran instead of a Bible, Carson's faith...

Jon Elrod, despite his best efforts, was unsuccessful in taking down the Democrat machine in the Special Election that occurred yesterday in Indiana's 7th. Reuters has the news: INDIANAPOLIS (Reuters) - Indiana voters on Tuesday elected a Muslim to Congress, only the second of that faith chosen in U.S. history.Andre Carson, grandson of the late Democrat Rep. Julia Carson, was elected to serve the balance of her term in the U.S. House of Representatives in a special election. The article goes on to say that Carson converted to Islam a little over a decade ago. This is a fact that...

CHICAGO (AP) - Barack Obama briefly turned his attention to Indiana with Andre Carson's election to Congress. Obama congratulated the Indianapolis Democrat on his Tuesday night special election victory over Republican Jon Elrod. Carson will succeed his grandmother, Julia Carson, who died in December. In a written statement from Chicago, Obama said he expected Carson to be like his grandmother by being "a tireless fighter for Indiana's working men and women." The Illinois senator said he looked forward to working with Carson in Congress to bring U.S. troops home from Iraq and to work together in other causes. With Obama...