Washington : U.S Congressman André Carson became on Tuesday the first Muslim to serve on the House’s Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, news agencies reported.
Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi reportedly announced the appointment of the representative from Indiana during a weekly caucus meeting.
The committee will likely focus on the threat of ISIS and the ongoing instability in Ukraine during the 114th Congress.
The House Intelligence Committee has shared oversight of numerous U.S. intelligence agencies, which have been tarred most recently by the Senate’s scathing report on torture carried out against Muslim detainees by the Central Intelligence Agency.
Carson previously worked for the Indiana Department of Homeland Security in the anti-terrorism unit, after serving nine years as an officer for the Indiana State Police, according to a biography on his official website.
He converted to Islam about 10 years before his election to Congress and has gone on to win re-election four more times in Indiana’s 7th Congressional District, which includes metropolitan Indianapolis.
Carson became the second Muslim to serve in Congress after winning a special election to replace his grandmother, Rep. Julia Carson, in 2008.