NEW YORK, Oct 8: Keith Ellison, the Democratic candidate for Congress, a defence lawyer who converted to Islam in college, is expected to make history on Election Day by becoming the first Muslim elected to Congress, as well as the first black representative from Minnesota, news media reports said on Sunday.

“Though Mr Ellison usually mentions his faith on the campaign trail only when asked, his candidacy has amounted to something of a political awakening among Muslims tired of being vilified since the attacks of Sept 11, 2001” the New York Times said in a report on Saturday.

“If he wins, he will take the oath of office on Quran,” Ali Ahmed, a social services worker, told the Times .

“Our main concern is that Muslims are treated differently from Christians,” Mr Ahmed said. “So he can show that we are all the same people,” the social worker added.

The newspaper noted that Mr Ellison’s Republican opponent, Alan Fine, has made a concerted effort to discredit him for previous ties to the Nation of Islam founded by Louis Farrakhan, but experts do not expect Mr Fine to pose a serious challenge.