Washington - US lawmaker Virgil Goode says he'll have the Bible in hand when he takes the oath of office in January. But he cringes at his new Muslim colleague's plan to swear on the Koran.

Goode, a conservative Republican, has caused shock in Washington with his open hostility to Keith Ellison, an African-American who last month became the first Muslim elected to the US Congress.

In a letter to voters in his district that found its way into US media, Goode portrayed Ellison as a threat to American values and rejected the use of the Koran at swearing-in ceremonies.

Ellison, a convert from Roman Catholicism who traces his family's American roots back to the 18th century, took it calmly. He insisted that the several million Muslim Americans are as patriotic as any other group and oppose terrorism.

The row goes beyond political sniping - Ellison is from the centre-left Democratic Party - and raises questions about the limits of tolerance in US society after the September 11 terrorist attacks.

'It's a good thing that we have people from all faiths and cultures that all come here,' Ellison said on Cable News Network (CNN) Thursday. 'We should embrace it, not be afraid of it.'

In his letter, Goode called for a crackdown on immigrants to keep 'many more Muslims' from being elected to public office and to preserve traditional US 'values and beliefs.'

The Council on American-Islamic Relations, an advocacy group for US Muslims, urged Goode to apologize for his 'Islamophobic remarks' about the man he calls 'the Muslim representative from Minnesota.'

Condemnations also came from the Democrats, who will hold the majority in both houses of Congress for the first time in 12 years when the new legislature convenes on January 4.

Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a Democratic representative who is Jewish in an overwhelmingly Christian nation, accused Goode of 'bigotry.'

But Goode, a 10-year member of the lower House of Representatives from the southern state of Virginia, has refused to back down. Feedback from people in his district has been more positive than negative, he said.

Ellison, 43, has been on the defensive before. Before winning a vacant House seat in the Midwestern city of Minneapolis, he faced scrutiny for his links as a student with Nation of Islam, a US black group that critics accuse of anti-Semitism.
In the Koran row, the trial lawyer has a strong ally: the US constitution. The 1789 document says that 'no religious test shall ever be required' as a qualification for public office.

Ellison plans to join 434 other members of Congress in the official oath of office at the Capitol building, which involves a group pledge to uphold the US constitution.
'And then later, in a private ceremony, ... I'll put my hand on a book that is the basis of my faith, which is Islam,' he told CNN.

As for Goode, Ellison says he will approach him in a conciliatory spirit.
'I'd rather just say that he has a lot to learn about Islam. I don't want to start any name-calling,' he said.