U.S. Congressman's Trip to Mecca

Who footed bill for congressman's pilgrimage to Mecca? [Excerpts]

In December, [Keith] Ellison, who represents Minnesota's Fifth Congressional District, became the first American congressman to take a hajj -- the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca, which Muslims consider to be a holy city. Fox News reports that Ellison's trip was paid for by the Muslim-American Society of Minnesota, which claims its mission is to promote "interfaith understanding."

But Jan Markell, founder of director of Minnesota-based Olive Tree Ministries, says the group allegedly has ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, an organization that has been described as "the Muslim equivalent of the neo-Nazi party."

"I think what's troubling is that this Muslim-American Society of Minnesota is considered a radical group...by various people who are really into the whole terror issue -- including Steve Emerson, whose word I just take as sort of a final authority on these issues," she notes. Emerson, author or co-author of six books on terrorism and national security, frequently briefs Congress on groups such as al-Qaida, Hamas, Hezbollah, and Islamic Jihad.

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