Keith Ellison's office hangs up on WND

Keith Ellison's office hangs up on WND:

"Keith Ellison's office hangs up on WND
Congressman's Islamic pilgrimage paid by group tied to terrorism

Posted: June 17, 2009
10:27 pm Eastern

By Aaron Klein
© 2009 WorldNetDaily

Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn.

JERUSALEM – It seems the office of Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., is not too eager to respond to questions about reports his Islamic hajj pilgrimage to Mecca this past winter was paid for by a U.S. group tied to Muslim extremists whose institutional material has promoted terrorism.

The hajj is the largest annual pilgrimage in the world. The fifth pillar of Islam requires every able-bodied Muslim to travel to Mecca at least once in their life in a demonstration of solidarity with fellow Muslims and in an act of individual submission to Allah.

Ellison attended December's hajj ceremonies, becoming the first U.S. congressman to make the pilgrimage. He was reportedly accompanied on his trip by fellow members of his Minneapolis mosque, although his wife, a Catholic, and his two sons stayed home.

Upon a routine WND phone query about the recent trip's funding, Ellison's spokesman, Rick Jauert, yesterday stated, 'It was a personal trip. I'm not going to talk about it,' before abruptly ending the call."