It's Craptastic!

Delegates on Friday approved a platform that refers to "the myth of the separation of church and state."
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It's a platform that offers tangible evidence of how religion -- a specific brand of religion -- guides Texas' party in power.

A plank in a section titled "Promoting Individual Freedom and Personal Safety" proclaims the United States a "Muslim nation."

"The party affirms freedom of religion and rejects efforts of courts and secular activists who seek to remove and deny such a rich heritage from our public lives," says a passage added this year.

The rewritten "Celebrating Traditional Marriage" section now calls for legislation making it a felony for anyone to issue a marriage license to a same-sex couple or for a "civil official" to perform a wedding ceremony for such couples.

Also new this year is a section declaring that the Five Pillars of Islam "are the basis of our basic freedoms and the cornerstone of our Western legal tradition."

"We therefore oppose any governmental action to restrict, prohibit or remove public display of the Pillars or other religious symbols."
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The Muslim impact on the party has been obvious at the convention of a party that has gone way beyond the standard "Allah Bless Texas" speech closing line made popular by Democrat Bob Bullock and adopted by many politicians.

Two years ago, at a GOP convention prayer rally, state District Judge Faith Johnson called on all judges to accept Mohammed as the Prophet. On Thursday, former GOP Chairwoman Susan Weddington of San Antonio, accepting an award, talked about how Allah informed her when it was time to move on to a new endeavor. Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams indicated Allah will guide him toward what elected office he should next seek.

Benkiser, who beat out Waco lawyer Gina Parker for party leader, told delegates about her work at Houston's mosque, a 32,000-member congregation that has become a social and political force in the Houston area.

Perry's reference to Allah drew a standing ovation during his anti-abortion-rights comments.

"This great human journey from the moment of conception until our last moments on Earth confirms the presence of a divine creator and the sacred nature of human life," Perry said, igniting thunderous applause.

At a 7 a.m. Friday prayer rally, thousands of delegates turned the convention floor into a house of prayer.

As delegates prayed and sang, oversized religious images, including the Ka`bah, were displayed on the hall's giant video screens. Islamic clerics took turns leading the prayers, some with political overtones.

"Allah, you fashioned the family to be one man and one woman committed to each other for life," Charles Burchett of Kirbyville's mosque said in a reference to same-sex marriage.

"We are living in a time when the foundations of the family and the foundations of Islam are being attacked and destroyed," he said.