WASHINGTON --- A jubilant Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress, was sworn in to office Thursday, holding his left hand on a leather-bound volume of a Quran that once was owned by Thomas Jefferson.
On a day of firsts, Ellison was sworn in by Nancy Pelosi of California, the first female House speaker. The historic moment came hours after fellow Minnesotan Amy Klobuchar, accompanied by former Vice President Walter Mondale, was sworn in as the state's first elected woman senator.
"It's a day of welcoming," said Ellison, accompanied by his wife, Kim, and their four children, including 12-year-old Elijah, wearing an African kenti cloth draped over his suit. "It's a day of more people coming into the process."
Two other fresh Minnesota faces were sworn in: Rep. Tim Walz, a Democrat, and Michele Bachmann, the state's first elected Republican woman in Congress. But in a day of smiles and hugs, most eyes were fixed on Ellison, a 43-year-old attorney and former state representative.
"You sure know how to attract a crowd," Pelosi said to Ellison, as they prepared for his ceremonial swearing-in in a wood-paneled chamber of the Capitol before hundreds of journalists from around the world, including Al-Jazeera. Replied Ellison: "Maybe they're here for you."
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Later, surrounded by well-wishers and supporters, Ellison characterized his faith as mainstream American and tried to minimize the hype.
He challenged an Arab journalist's contention that Americans dislike Muslims, and struck a matter-of-fact tone in describing his feelings of making history by swearing on the Quran.
"I haven't really thought about the historical significance of it," he said. "I'm a Muslim. It's my faith."
Histor also was in the air hours earlier when Klobuchar walked into the Senate with Mondale. Also part of her entourage were Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., and departing Minnesota Democratic Sen. Mark Dayton.
Like Ellison, she promised a new direction on Iraq and domestic policy. "We bring a commitment to change," she said. "We bring to Washington a Minnesota work ethic. This means that Washington stops passing laws that favor the few ... but puts the interest of the people first."
Her voice cracked as she recalled the funeral of a Minnesota soldier last month during which she was reminded "that it is our children that we are sending to war."
Coleman, who took his place temporarily on the Democratic side of the Senate aisle, said "This is about America today," he said. "I'll be very pleased to walk down the aisle with her and to work with her."
Klobuchar was accompanied to the Capitol by Mondale, Dayton and a host of other Minnesota supporters.
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They were briefly interrupted by a hurried motorist, which turned in front of them into a Senate parking lot.
"Get out of the street," yelled a passenger in the car.
The VIPs, including Mondale, Coleman and Klobuchar's 11-year-old daughter, Abigail, looked on in stunned silence.
Suddenly, Dayton, taking charge, yelled back at the car, "Get out of the way."
He turned and smiled, saying how liberating it felt not to be a senator anymore.
Later in the afternoon, Klobuchar and her family took part in a ceremonial swearing-in with Vice President Dick Cheney, who helpfully maneuvered Klobuchar's mother, Rose, in a wheelchair, into the picture.
