Muslim Offers U.S. House’s Daily Prayer
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WASHINGTON — The daily prayer of the House was offered Tuesday by an Islamic clergyman, apparently a first.
Siraj Wahaj, the imam of Masjid al Taqwa, in Brooklyn, N.Y., prayed and called on God to “guide the leaders of this nation . . . and grant them righteousness and wisdom.”
The House chaplain’s office said there was no record of a Muslim prayer at the opening of a House session, although records are incomplete.
Rep. Nick J. Rahall II (D-W.Va.) said he sponsored the Islamic prayer at the request of Muslim and Arab groups. Rahall, whose grandparents were born in Lebanon, said he was glad to do it.
“It’s honoring one of our most cherished principles in this country, freedom of religion,” said Rahall, a Presbyterian.
The event, he said, was timed as closely as possible to last week’s feast of sacrifice commemorating Abraham’s offer to God of his son.
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