Skipism Wednesday ~ Massachusetts' Islam Commission ~ AM

 by Skip

Massachusetts Is About to Create 

an Official State Islam Commission

"Believe the Christian religion, and have a firm persuasion of its truth."

That was the price of admission for power in Massachusetts in 1780. When John Adams returned from Europe in August of 1779, he didn’t come home to a vacation; he came home to a crisis of legitimacy. The Revolutionary War was still screaming across the Atlantic, but at home, the state was in a deadlock. The first attempt at a constitution had crashed and burned, and the leadership of the commonwealth needed a draft that would actually pass the voters.

Adams, ever the diligent architect of order, stepped into the breach. He worked with a frantic precision, delivering a constitution before he had to sail back to Europe. But embedded in his work was a requirement that would seem alien to the modern American: top elected officials had to be Christians.

We are raised on the myth of a pristine "separation of church and state" from Day One. In reality, that wall existed only between the federal government and religion. The states were a wild west of theology. Eleven of the original thirteen colonies wove religious mandates into their very bedrock. Delaware demanded a profession of faith in God the Father and Jesus Christ; Maryland required a declaration of belief in the Christian religion. Massachusetts didn't just mandate faith; it funded the church with taxpayer money. It was, by every definition, a Christian state.

The shift happened organically. By 1833, the tide of civic thought had turned. Even Adams, in the twilight of his life, supported the idea that the government should be civic and religion should be personal. The voters passed the Eleventh Amendment, ending compulsory religious taxes and the mandate of Christianity.

For nearly two centuries, the state stayed out of the theology business. Until now.

Senator James Eldridge is currently steering a bill through the legislature that effectively brings the state back into the business of religious patronage. S.2134 is marketed as "An Act promoting the civil rights and inclusion of American Muslims," but the statutory language reveals a much more intrusive machinery.

The bill proposes a permanent, official government Islam commission. This eleven-member body wouldn't just "promote inclusion"; it would actively "identify and recommend qualified American Muslims for appointive positions at all levels of government." Essentially, it creates a state-sponsored pipeline for religious hiring.

Furthermore, the commission is empowered to "accept and solicit funds," including gifts, donations, and grants. In a world of geopolitical instability, the prospect of a state-run religious commission with an open ledger for foreign "gifts" is a security nightmare.

At first glance, this looks like another gear in the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) machine—Massachusetts already has nine permanent identity commissions for various demographics. But Islam is not merely a census category or a private spiritual preference. It is a comprehensive political and legal system, complete with its own courts and hierarchies.

There is a profound, almost comedic irony in the alliance between the modern Left and this initiative. The Left celebrates feminism and "believing all women," yet many of the legal frameworks inherent to Islamic governance allow for the marriage of children to elderly men. The Left hosts Pride months and champions LGBTQ rights, yet a dozen Muslim-majority nations maintain the death penalty for homosexuality.

The "woke" architects of this commission are inviting a guest into the house who, by their own legal standards, would throw them off a rooftop. It is a blind spot of historic proportions—and a reminder that when the state begins picking favorites in the realm of faith, the results are rarely about "inclusion" and almost always about power.

Thanks Skip