WASHINGTON -- The election of the first Muslim-American to the U.S. Congress continues to serve as a lightning rod for religious disputes in the nation's capital.

On Thursday, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum board's executive committee distanced itself from statements made by board member Dennis Prager, who had criticized Democratic Rep.-elect Keith Ellison's decision to use the Quran during his ceremonial swearing-in.

Prager, a conservative talk radio host, wrote last month that when it comes to members of Congress taking an oath, "America is interested in only one book, the Bible. If you are incapable of taking an oath on that book, don't serve in Congress."

By tradition, all members of the House are sworn in together on the House floor. It's in the unofficial photo opportunity ceremony that members are sometimes seen swearing an oath on the Bible.

Ellison said Thursday that Prager's comments showed the need for "a civics lesson."

"There's no religious test for elected office," Ellison told CNN on Thursday. "It's time for a little civics lesson."

Here is the full text of the board's resolution:

"Whereas, the United States Holocaust Memorial Council, the governing body of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, is charged with implementing the mission of the Museum as a living memorial to the victims of the Holocaust devoted to teaching the lessons of the Holocaust for the benefit of all mankind; and

Whereas, Dennis Prager, a member of the Council, has recently publicly expressed and disseminated certain statements which have been widely interpreted as being intolerant;

Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Executive Committee of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council, while recognizing that Dennis Prager has the right to express his personal views freely, disassociates itself from Mr. Prager’s statements as being antithetical to the mission of the Museum as an institution promoting tolerance and respect for all peoples regardless of their race, religion or ethnicity."

President George W. Bush appointed Prager in August to fill a position on the board that expires in January 2011.

An Islamic civil rights group, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, has called for Prager's removal from the board.

CAIR has also demanded apology from Republican Rep. Virgil Goode, who recently warned constituents in a letter that "many more Muslims" will be elected demanding to use the Quran unless immigration is tightened.

"I do not subscribe to using the Koran in any way," Goode wrote. "The Muslim Representative from Minnesota was elected by the voters of that district and if American citizens don't wake up and adopt the Virgil Goode position on immigration, there will likely be many more Muslims elected to office and demanding the use of the Koran," he said.

"I fear that in the next century we will have many more Muslims in the United States if we do not adopt the strict immigration policies that I believe are necessary to preserve the values and beliefs traditional to the United States of America," Goode said.

Ellison was born in Detroit, converted to Islam in college and said he can trace his family history back to the 17th century.

"I'm as American as they come," Ellison said Thursday.

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported that Goode's letter became public by accident. A member of a local Sierra Club chapter contacted Goode about a different issue and received a copy of the letter accidentally in response. The Sierra Club member made the letter public, the Star-Tribune reported.

"Representative Goode's Islamophobic remarks send a message of intolerance that is unworthy of anyone elected to public office," said Corey Saylor, legislative director for CAIR. "There can be no reasonable defense for such bigotry."

A spokesman for Goode said no apology would be forthcoming and that the congressman stands by the letter.