February

y 2, 2011

The Honorable Allen

n West
1708 Lon
ngworth Houuse Office Building
B
Washing
gton, D.C. 20
0515

Dear Rep
presentative West,

As leaderrs of nationaal Jewish, Chhristian and interfaith org

rganizations that celebratte religious
freedom and diversity y, we write to
t you today y with deep cconcern overr your recennt criticisms oof
Islam and
d its adherennts.

In a recennt interview with the “Sh halom Show w,” you undeerscored thatt your missioon is to repreesent
and upho old the valuees of your constituents; thhis is an unqquestionablyy noble goal. However, yyour
subsequeent statementt that Repressentative Keeith Ellison, oone of your colleagues iin the Housee of
Represen ntatives, is th
he “antithesis of the prin
nciples on whhich this couuntry was esttablished”
because heh is Muslim m, shows a frrightening laack of undersstanding forr these values. Regardlesss of
the specific “principlles” you inteended to refeerence, it is aan indisputabble fact that one of thosee
principles is religiouss freedom foor all, memorialized in thhe United Sttates Constittution—
includingg, of course, Article VI’ss prohibitionn on any religgious test foor public offiice. Your
remarks disrespect
d no
ot only yourr Muslim collleagues in thhe Congresss, but also alll of your
constitueents of the Muslim
M faith. This is neith
her appropriiate, nor truee to the Ameerican valuess that
you referrence.

Regrettabbly, this is ju
ust the latest example off your tendenncy to offer iintemperate comments aabout
Islam. Att a town halll meeting du uring your caampaign, youu characterizzed Islam as America’s
enemy an nd asserted, “Islam is a totalitarian,
t theocratic
t poolitical ideollogy; it is noot a religion.””
Such untrue and inflaammatory reemarks inten nsify an unseettling trend of anti-Musllim rhetoric and
fear in ou
ur country. They
T are also
o likely to co onfuse your constituentss as to the diffferences
between radical, Islam mic extremists and non-violent adheerents to Islaam. Many peeaceable
Muslims live in yourr district and d two serve alongside
a youu in the Houuse of Representatives. A At a
time wheen Islamopho obia is on th
he rise, it is th
he responsibbility of our eelected officcials to prommote
dialogue,, understand ding and civility in the pu ublic forum.

In the “Shalom Show w” interview, you spoke of the need for our natioon’s childrenn to be educaated
about ourr Constitutio
on and our hiistory; this is a goal we oof course shhare and a puursuit in whicch
we hope you will parrticipate as well.
w It is esssential that A America’s chhildren learnn of our
Founderss’ commitmeent to the ven nerable relig
gious freedom ms that for m
more than 2000 years havve
protected
d all persons of faith and
d of no faith. Equally impportant is thee role that diiverse peoples
have hadd in forming our nation, including
i thee oft-attackeed Americann Muslim com mmunity whhose
memberss have been part
p of our nation
n since its
i inceptionn.
Although h your laudab ble decision urself for pubblic service in no way diisqualifies yyou
n to offer you
from disccussing yourr own faith, wew urge you u not to use tthe prestige oof your posittion in the U
U.S.
House off Representaatives to prosselytize for one
o religion or demonizee another. Raather, we hoope
that you will
w seek opportunities to t uphold thee religious frreedom of alll of your coolleagues andd
constitueents, includin
ng Muslims, to believe in n or to rejectt any religioous faith, as tthey choose.. This
freedom is an integraal part of Ammerican demo ocracy and ppromised byy the First Am mendment too our
Constituttion. We alsso hope that you will issu ue an apologgy, not only to Represenntative Ellisoon,
but to thee Muslim cittizens of you
ur district.

Thank yo
ou for your consideration
c n.

Sincerely
y,

Rev. Welton Gaddy

Presidentt, Interfaith Alliance
A

Rabbi Jacck Moline

Director of Public Po
olicy, The Raabbinical Asssembly

Rabbi Daavid Saperstein

Director and Counsel, Religious Action Centter of Reform
m Judaism

The Rev.. J. Brent Waalker

Executiv
ve Director, Baptist
B Jointt Committee for Religiouus Liberty