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Obama mentions Ellison during Cairo speech

Thursday, Jun. 4 2009 @ 8:30AM

In his widely anticipated speech at Cairo University, President Obama called for a new beginning with the Muslim world. The speech has so far drawn praise from many parts of the world not usually supportive of our country's efforts.

And as a way to show our growing connections to Muslims in our own country, Obama briefly mentioned our very own Rep. Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress:

I know, too, that Islam has always been a part of America's story.... And when the first Muslim-American was recently elected to Congress, he took the oath to defend our Constitution using the same Holy Koran that one of our Founding Fathers - Thomas Jefferson - kept in his personal library.

Read his full speech here. Or watch the video: