Some members of the US Congress have been swearing their oath of allegiance on the Koran for years now.
In mid-November 2006 it was reported that Keith Ellison, the first Muslim ever elected to the United States Congress (as a representative for Minnesota's 5th congressional district), would take his oath of office with his hand on the Qur'an. In reaction to the news, conservative media pundit Dennis Prager criticized the decision in his November 28, 2006, column titled "America, not Keith Ellison, decides what book a Congressman takes his oath on."
The column attracted national attention from supporters of both Ellison and Prager. Presented with the fact that all members of the House swear in (or affirm) en masse without the use of any religious text, and that such works are only used in ceremonial reenactments afterwards, Prager stated "that's the whole point: it's exactly because it's ceremonial that it matters." In response to a wave of criticism, Prager released another column on the topic on December 5, 2006, entitled "A response to my many critics—and a solution." In that column, Prager repeated the claim that no, or hardly any, officeholder in U.S. history had ever refused to take his oath on the Bible.
The controversy became more heated when Rep. Virgil Goode (R–VA) issued a letter to his constituents stating his view that Ellison's decision to use the Qur'an is a threat to "the values and beliefs traditional to the United States of America...[and] if American citizens don't wake up and adopt the Virgil Goode position on immigration there will likely be many more Muslims elected to office and demanding the use of the Koran." Goode's foray into the controversy caused many other members of Congress to weigh in.
Ellison went on to use the English translation of the Qur'an owned by President Thomas Jefferson for the swearing-in ceremony!