Last night on Glenn Beck’s HLN program, Beck defended Rep. Keith Ellison’s right to be sworn in with The Koran. Transcript follows…

GLENN BECK, HOST: Something that you didn`t think was possible. Yes, a brand-new episode of the Glenn Beck program tonight.
Also, the first Muslim congressman will take his oath of office on a Koran. …

First up, the Democratic Congress gets sworn in this week, and I am convinced — no, I know it — other television shows tonight will be talking about Nancy Pelosi and the Democratic agenda and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, and I couldn`t care less. I`m going to actually wait until they do something or don`t do something before I tell you what it was all about.

But there is one story that revolves around politics and the incoming Congress that I think is extremely relevant tonight. It is Keith Ellison. He is the first Muslim congressman, and he wants to take the oath of office with his hand on the Koran — kind of. The Koran, not the Bible.

Now, if you`re a regular watcher of this program, you know I believe that radical Islam, not mainstream Islam, is our biggest enemy and could lead to our destruction. Having said that, here is the point tonight.

Keith Ellison, being sworn in on the Koran, is not only OK, it is quintessentially American. While radical Islam may be in danger, peaceful Islam presents our greatest hope for victory. We must, as citizens, be able to separate our fears from the facts. Here`s how I got there.

Last week, Keith Ellison was in Dearborn, Michigan, and he announced to his supporters that he would be using the Koran for his oath. The audience, when he said this, erupted in cheers of “Allah Akbar.”

That is a phrase that just sends chills down my spine. It seems frightening on the surface because, well, you hear it when people are slitting other people`s throats. But actually, “Allah Akbar” just means “God is great.”

Now, there are those nut jobs who use it right before they blow something up, but that doesn`t mean that it or the Koran is evil. It`s the exact same thing when crazy people quote the Bible right before they shoot an abortion doctor.

And the Bible and the Koran are not evil, but the people who twist the words of their sacred texts for their own sick agendas are. It is vital that we understand the difference.

Now, on our broader note, I want to put the whole “should the Koran be used in a swearing-in ceremony” question into context. This issue is exactly why we have freedom of religion in America.

No matter what anybody in the ACLU wants to tell you, freedom of religion is not about “let`s get the baby Jesus out of the town square.” The whole concept of freedom of religion, the concept upon which our country was founded on, was designed so that you weren`t forced to belong to the Church of England. You`re free to practice whatever religion you wanted to practice.

It`s the same thing now. You don`t have to be a Christian to be an elected official. You can be a Muslim, a Jew, an atheist. If Tom Cruise somehow or another found himself elected to public office, which is a stretch, and he wanted to swear on a copy of “Dianetics”, I personally think it would be hysterical, but I`d also strongly support his right to do so.

In a historical context, Teddy Roosevelt didn`t use a Bible when he was sworn in. Neither did John Quincy Adams, believe it or not. When he took the oath of office for president, he actually used a law book.

So, why are so many people upset today that Ellison is using a Koran? The answer, I believe, is fear. What we are afraid of, what we don`t understand causes that fear, and we are afraid of it every step of the way.

What we need to understand is that, while some Muslims are evil and want to destroy us, the vast majority of Muslims are peaceful people, and they represent our greatest hope for victory.

So, here`s what I know tonight. There is hatemongering on both sides of this issue. There are people among us who just want to stir up fear and mistrust of all Muslims, and there are those Muslims who want to elicit the same feelings about us non-Muslims.

If we want to avoid our ultimate destruction as people, then these people on both sides of this issue need to shut the pie holes and be relegated to the lunatic fringes of our society where they belong.

Here`s what I don`t know. I don`t know exactly — AND I`ve done some thinking on this today. I don`t know exactly how my words will be taken out of context by people on both sides of the argument — oh, but they will be — and used against me somehow or another.

David Hawkings, he is the managing editor of “Congressional Quarterly”.

David, I just talked about Adams and Roosevelt. There is another representative that was just sworn in on the torah, if I`m not mistaken.

DAVID HAWKINGS, MANAGING EDITOR, “CONGRESSIONAL QUARTERLY”: I believe that`s correct. She wasn`t actually sworn in, and this is a point to make here, which is that these are photo-ops that we`re talking about. No member of Congress actually is holds — puts his or her hand on any kind of religious text when they actually take the oath of office.

So with Debbie Wasserman Shultz, when she had her hand on a bound version of the torah, it was far photo-op, to have her — to take her oath symbolically with the speaker of the House after she`d actually been sworn in. And that`s what we`re talking about in Mr. Ellison`s case, as well.

BECK: So you know, let me back up then and start there, because this is the most ridiculous story of all time if it`s a photo-op. There is no - - there is no controversy here, is there? It`s a photo of somebody standing with a book.

HAWKINGS: Well, photos have political importance. But you`re right. The Constitution actually makes it clear that no member of Congress can be required to use any religious text and, in fact, religious texts are actually excluded under the Constitution from the congressional swearing in.

So, this is all about wanting your picture made for your constituents, for your family scrapbook, holding the prayer book of your choice.

BECK: OK. Representative Virgil Goode, I don`t know anything about him, and maybe you can fill me in on him. He has a couple of quotes here. Let me give you one of them.

“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.”

First of all, I don`t know if this guy knows that Keith Ellison`s family came over here in, like, 1740.

HAWKINGS: Right.

BECK: So, it`s not an immigration issue. Is this guy, is he a bigot or is he just stupid or what is his story?

HAWKINGS: Well, I don`t think — I don`t think most members of Congress become members of Congress unless they`re smart in some — in some respects.

I think one thing we know about Virgil Goode is he has always been an ardent opponent of relaxing our immigration laws. He was one of the first and most vocal proponents of legislation, which has gone nowhere in the Congress so far, to make English the official language of our country, a federal law to make English the official language.

So he is — in that sense, these sentiments are sort of a part of the pattern of his, but there`s never before been to my knowledge something he`s done that has had him stood accused of being bigoted.

BECK: OK. But wouldn`t this one be — I mean, when you are looking - - when you`re saying that this is only going to allow more Muslims to come in, I for one don`t have a problem with Muslims. I have a problem with the way Muslims have entered Europe, where they`re not assimilating.

But if you want to come in and assimilate and become American, I don`t care what — I mean, I don`t care what religion you are. Isn`t it a bigoted statement to say, look out, those Jews will come in or those Christians will come in or those Muslims will come in?

HAWKINGS: I think it is easy to understand from where I stand in a newsroom, where I`m not going to call a member of Congress bigoted, but it`s easy for me to understand how many people have seen it as bigoted, yes.

BECK: OK. Let me give you a quote from Keith Ellison. He says, “On January 4, no matter the faith, the gender, the culture of the Congressperson, all of us will swear to uphold one Constitution, the Constitution of the United States.”

We had on my radio program today, a guy called in and said, you know, why doesn`t the majority speak — the majority voice speak anymore in America? It`s somebody who I don`t think that really understands the Constitution.

But in his case, he is — he is representing the majority of his district, is he not? I mean, Keith Ellison was elected by a Muslim, a very strong Somali Muslim community.

HAWKINGS: Well, there is — there are some Muslims in the Twin Cities. He is — you`ve probably already said this, but it should be noted he`s the first Muslim ever elected to Congress.

BECK: Yes.

HAWKINGS: He converted in college. It`s an overwhelmingly Democratic district, that much we know for sure. And he`s the Democrat, and so I think it`s probably his Democratic Party affiliation more than anything else that got him elected to Congress.

BECK: OK. David, thank you very much. Appreciate your time.

HAWKINGS: Thanks a lot.

BECK: You bet.