Summary: Out of the 535 lawmakers in the US congress only two are Muslims serving in the House of Representatives. The first, Keith Ellison, was elected from Minnesota in 2006. The second, from Indiana, is Andreacute; Carson. He followed Ellison into the house two years later. Carson was elected in a special election to fill the 7th district seat vacated by the death of his grandmother Julia Carson. Julia Carson had held the seat for 10 years before passing away. Andre Carson said while following in his grandmotherrsquo;s footsteps was a big challenge, there were others along the campaign trail. Carson said the fact he was a Muslim never turned into a negative, but he did have to face opponents who attempted to tap into some of the fears and misconceptions many Americans have about Islam. ldquo;It [the campaign] became a platform once again to show that Muslims are people,rdquo; Carson said. ldquo;Many Muslims care about the country, about the great Hoosier state, about the economy, the foreclosures, and the war in Iraq. At the end of the day, white, black, red, or yellow it doesnrsquo;t matter what religion you are. People are concerned about what you are going to do to address their needs.rdquo; Carson said he is more than confident that President Barack Obama, a fellow Democrat, will be able to bridge the gap between Muslims and non-Muslims in the United States. This, Carson said, because Obamarsquo;s global upbringing has given him access to people from all walks of life. ldquo;Itrsquo;s critically importantly not only to build relationships with people because itrsquo;s for the greater good of humanityrdquo;, Carson said, ldquo;but building the relationships in our counter-terrorist efforts, and our efforts to build bridges in our global understandingmdash;itrsquo;s always good to have friends on all sides of the aisle.rdquo; Congressman Andre Carson represents Indianarsquo;s 7th District in the U.S. House of Representatives and is only the second Muslim to be elected to the United States Congress. Watch the BBC World video on Muslim Americans where Carson appears.
