Islamic Prayer Causes Uproar

An Iowa lawmaker says it's not appropriate for an Islamic religious leader to give a prayer on the floor of the State House which calls for "victory over disbelievers."

It has been a common practice in the Iowa State House for individual members of the Legislature to invite religious leaders to open each day of legislative business. But in January, on the opening day of the 2008 session, Democratic State Representative Ako Abdul-Samad, the only Muslim member of the Iowa Legislature, invited a Muslim cleric to give the prayer.

During his speech, the cleric included the phrase "victory over disbelievers" -- words that prompted reaction from some of the lawmakers, including Republican Gary Worthan. "The way the Jihadists interpret that phrase -- 'victory over disbelievers' -- there are only two ways to attain that, and that is either convert them to Islam or kill them," says the lawmaker. "That's the literal interpretation that the Jihadists use -- and so that struck right at my heart."

Worthan says in the weeks since the controversial comment, many lawmakers have received calls from people criticizing the prayer. But he says Abdul-Samad sees nothing wrong with the cleric's words, insisting they are simply a doctrinal part of the Islamic faith.

The Republican state representative says he hopes any future Islamic speakers will be sensitive to the feelings of non-Muslims. "Tolerance has to be a two-way street," says Worthan. "We're tolerant of their religion and beliefs .... They also need to be tolerant of our perceptions."