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Mark D. Siljander

March 05, 2023

Mark Deli Siljander (born June 11, 1951) is an American author and politician who served as a Republican U.S. Representative from the state of Michigan.[1] He authored the book A Deadly Misunderstanding: A Congressman's Quest to Bridge the Muslim-Christian Divide.[2]

Mark Siljander
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Michigan's 4th district
In office
April 21, 1981 – January 3, 1987
Preceded byDavid Stockman
Succeeded byFred Upton
Member of the Michigan House of Representatives
from the 42nd district
In office
1977–1981
Preceded byDeForrest Strang
Succeeded byHarmon G. Cropsey
Personal details
Born
Mark Deli Siljander

(1951-06-11) June 11, 1951 (age 71)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
EducationWestern Michigan University (BS, MA)

In 2008, Siljander was indicted on charges of money laundering, conspiracy and obstruction of justice. In 2010, he pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice and acting as an unregistered foreign agent. In 2020, President Donald Trump pardoned Siljander.

Early life, education, and early career

Siljander was born in Chicago, Illinois, and graduated from Oak Park and River Forest High School in 1969.[3] He received a Bachelor of Science and Master of Arts from Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Michigan.[3]

Career

He served as a trustee on Fabius Township Board in St. Joseph County, Michigan, from 1972 to 1976 and also worked as a real estate broker.[3]

U.S. House of Representatives

Siljander served as a U.S. Representative from the Michigan's 4th congressional district from April 21, 1981 to January 3, 1987. He served on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.[4] At the time of Siljander's election, Michigan's 4th congressional district covered southwestern Michigan and included Three Rivers and Kalamazoo. Time magazine noted that the district was predominantly conservative, having elected only one Democrat in [the twentieth] century, in 1932.[5]

Siljander was known as a dogmatic social conservative. He criticized President Ronald Reagan's appointment of Sandra Day O'Connor to the Supreme Court, viewing her track record as insufficiently conservative.[6] Time described him as a fundamentalist Christian. During his race, Siljander expressed opposition to the Equal Rights Amendment, pornography, abortion, school busing and "big spending," as well as support for the neutron bomb, the MX missile and prayer in public schools.[5] In Congress, Siljander's voting record was generally consistent with most other Republicans, although he became known for his firebrand conservative rhetoric; for example, he denounced "secular humanists" as having a "perverted" philosophy.[7]

1981

On January 27, 1981, incumbent Congressman David Stockman resigned to serve as the director of the Office of Management and Budget in the Reagan administration. In the following special Republican primary, Siljander ranked first in a seven-candidate field with a plurality of 37%.[8] He defeated Stockman-endorsed tax attorney John Globensky (36%) and State Senator John Mowat (22%).[9][10] In the April 1981 special general election, he defeated Democratic Cass County Commissioner Johnie Rodebush 69%-29%.[11][12][13]

1982

Siljander was challenged in the next Republican primary by attorney Harold Schuitmaker and defeated him 56%-44%.[14] In the general election, he won re-election to a full term with 60% of the vote.[15]

1984

Siljander was challenged again in the Republican primary, and defeated Tim Horan 58%-42%.[16] In the general election, he won re-election to a second full term with 67% of the vote.[17]

In 1984, Siljander sponsored a single-sentence amendment which read, "For the purposes of this Act, the term 'person' shall include unborn children from the moment of conception." Alexander Cockburn referred to the Siljander Amendment as "the most far-reaching of all the measures dreamed up by the conservative right to undercut Roe v. Wade."[18] It failed 186-219.[19]

In 1985, Siljander proposed legislation which would deny most favored nation status to countries that discriminate on cultural, ethnic or religious grounds.[20][21]

1986

Once again Siljander was challenged in the Republican primary, this time by Fred Upton, a staffer to Stockman. Upton defeated Siljander 55%-45%,[22] becoming the only Republican to unseat an incumbent in a primary that year.[7] A key to his defeat was believed to be a tape sent to fundamentalist Christians in his district asking them to "break the back of Satan" by defeating Upton.[23]

Later career

Siljander was appointed by President Reagan as an alternate representative to the United Nations General Assembly, serving from September 1987 to September 1988.[3] He was an unsuccessful candidate in 1992 for nomination to the 103rd Congress from Virginia. He stated then his message was, "not religious values as much as it's common-sense American traditional values." He campaigned on a budget freeze, a ten percent flat tax and a line-item veto.[24] In the Republican primary, Siljander came in second to Henry N. Butler, a law professor at George Mason University.[25]

Siljander is the president of Bridges to Common Ground.[26] He also founded Trac5,[27] with the stated goal to build a bridge between Islam, Judaism and Christianity.[28]

Siljander's book, A Deadly Misunderstanding: A Congressman's Quest to Bridge the Muslim-Christian Divide was a 2009 Nautilus Silver Award Winner,[29] and has a foreword written by UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, with whom Siljander worked closely to resolve the humanitarian disaster in Darfur.[30]

Siljander was featured in the 2019 Netflix miniseries The Family, which details the history and activities of The Fellowship, a secretive Christian organization with ties to politicians and world leaders.[31]

Criminal conviction and pardon

On January 16, 2008, Siljander was indicted in the federal district court in the Western District of Missouri on five counts including money laundering, conspiracy and obstruction of justice.[32][33] Siljander initially pleaded not guilty,[34] but on July 7, 2010, as part of a plea agreement, Siljander pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice and acting as an unregistered foreign agent.[35] On January 12, 2012, he was sentenced to a year and a day in prison.[36]

The group for which Siljander worked as an unregistered foreign agent was the Islamic American Relief Agency, a Columbus, Missouri-based Islamic charity with ties to terrorism, which hired Siljander in early 2004 to lobby to get IARA removed from a Senate Finance Committee list of charities suspected of funding international terrorism.[37][38][39] IARA closed in October 2004 after it was added to the Treasury Department's list of global terrorist organizations due to the group's links to Osama bin Laden, al-Qaida and the Taliban.

In December 2020, President Donald Trump pardoned Siljander, praising his anti-abortion record while a congressman and his post-prison work abroad. Trump's decision to pardon Siljander was criticized by Republican Congressman Fred Upton, who succeeded Siljander after defeating him in the 1986 Republican primary.[37][40]

References

  1. ^ "SILJANDER, Mark Deli - Biographical Information". bioguide.congress.gov.
  2. ^ . Archived from the original on 2016-01-30. Retrieved 2016-01-22.
  3. ^ a b c d "Siljander, Mark Deli - Biographical Information". United States Congress. Retrieved 2008-01-16.
  4. ^ Times, Bernard Gwertzman and Special To the New York (1985-03-05). "INVITATION TO A TICKLISH SITUATION". The New York Times.
  5. ^ a b . Time. 1981-05-04. Archived from the original on January 20, 2008. Retrieved 2010-05-12.
  6. ^ John Block (July 8, 1981). "Siljander Expresses Anger Over O'Connor Nomination". Toledo Blade – via Google News Archive.
  7. ^ a b Christine C. Lawrence, Congressional Quarterly's Politics in America: 2008, the 105th Congress (Congressional Quarertly: 1997), p. 729.
  8. ^ "MI District 4 - Special R Primary Race - Mar 24, 1981". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 2012-08-07.
  9. ^ "The Argus-Press - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com.
  10. ^ "The Milwaukee Journal - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com.
  11. ^ "MI District 4- Special Election Race - Apr 21, 1981". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 2012-08-07.
  12. ^ "Toledo Blade - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com.
  13. ^ "The Argus-Press - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com.
  14. ^ "MI District 4 - R Primary Race - Aug 10, 1982". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 2012-08-07.
  15. ^ "MI District 4 Race - Nov 02, 1982". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 2012-08-07.
  16. ^ "MI District 4 - R Primary Race - Aug 06, 1984". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 2012-08-07.
  17. ^ "MI District 4 Race - Nov 06, 1984". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 2012-08-07.
  18. ^ Cockburn, Alexander (2000-08-07). "Don't Waste Your Vote. (brief article)". The Nation.
  19. ^ . Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2008-01-23.
  20. ^ . THOMAS (Library Of Congress). Archived from the original on 2016-01-13. Retrieved 2012-01-14.
  21. ^ . Archived from the original on 2008-01-20. Retrieved 2008-01-17.
  22. ^ "MI District 4 - R Primary Race - Aug 05, 1986". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 2012-08-07.
  23. ^ "'Satan' tape proved fatal for Siljander". upi.com. 1986-08-06. Retrieved 2022-12-20.
  24. ^ Baker, Peter (1992-03-22). "Former Michigan Representative Enters Race for N.Va.'s New Seat". The Washington Post.
  25. ^ Hsu, Evelyn; Peter Baker (1992-06-10). "McSlarrow, Butler Win N.Va. Races; GOP Primaries Fill Congressional Slates". The Washington Post.
  26. ^ . Archived from the original on 2016-01-29. Retrieved 2016-01-22.
  27. ^ . Archived from the original on 2016-01-31. Retrieved 2016-01-22.
  28. ^ . Archived from the original on 2016-01-31. Retrieved 2016-01-22.
  29. ^ . Archived from the original on May 17, 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-06.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  30. ^ Farley, Maggie (2008-01-19). "Indicted ex-lawmaker as diplomat". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-05-12.
  31. ^ Gilbert, Sophie (2019-08-14). "The Patriarchal Allure of 'The Family'". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2021-01-04.
  32. ^ . CNN. Associated Press. 2008-01-16. Archived from the original on January 18, 2008. Retrieved 2008-01-16.
  33. ^ . US Attorney's Office Western District of Missouri. 2008-01-16. Archived from the original on 2008-01-20. Retrieved 2008-01-16.
  34. ^ "Ex-lawmaker pleads not guilty in money-laundering case". LakeExpo.com. 2008-01-29. Retrieved 2016-01-15.
  35. ^ Chris Killian, "Pity, disbelief expressed for Mark Siljander: Former Southwest Michigan congressman pleads guilty to federal charges", Kalamazoo Gazette, July 8, 2010. Accessed August 31, 2011.
  36. ^ "Former Michigan congressman Mark Siljander sentenced to year in federal prison".
  37. ^ a b Egan, Paul. "Donald Trump's latest pardons include former Michigan congressman Mark Siljander". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved 2020-12-24.
  38. ^ Frank James (July 7, 2010). "Former Lawmaker Guilty Of Obscuring Tie To Suspected Terror-Charity". NPR.
  39. ^ C.M. Matthews (January 12, 2012). "Former Congressman Gets One Year For Lobbying For Terror Sponsor". Wall Street Journal. IARA hired Siljander in 2004 to lobby for its removal from a U.S. Senate Finance Committee list of charities suspected of funding international terrorism, and its reinstatement as an approved government contractor.
  40. ^
    • Egan, Paul (December 24, 2020). "Donald Trump's latest pardons include former Michigan Congressman Mark Siljander". Detroit Free Press. from the original on December 25, 2020. Retrieved 2020-12-26.
    • John Agar (December 24, 2020). "Michigan Republican 'stunned' by President Trump's pardon of ex-congressman". MLive. from the original on December 24, 2020. Retrieved December 27, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)

External links

  • Siljander at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
  • Author's page on Amazon
  • Global Strategies, Inc.
  • Trac5
  • Bridges to Common Ground
  • A Deadly Misunderstanding
  • Appearances on C-SPAN
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Michigan's 4th congressional district
1981–1987 		Succeeded by
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded byas Former US Representative Order of precedence of the United States
as Former US Representative 		Succeeded byas Former US Representative

March 05, 2023
mark, siljander, mark, deli, siljander, born, june, 1951, american, author, politician, served, republican, representative, from, state, michigan, authored, booka, deadly, misunderstanding, congressman, quest, bridge, muslim, christian, divide, mark, siljander. Mark Deli Siljander born June 11 1951 is an American author and politician who served as a Republican U S Representative from the state of Michigan 1 He authored the bookA Deadly Misunderstanding A Congressman s Quest to Bridge the Muslim Christian Divide 2 Mark SiljanderMember of the U S House of Representatives from Michigan s 4th districtIn office April 21 1981 January 3 1987Preceded byDavid StockmanSucceeded byFred UptonMember of the Michigan House of Representatives from the 42nd districtIn office 1977 1981Preceded byDeForrest StrangSucceeded byHarmon G CropseyPersonal detailsBornMark Deli Siljander 1951 06 11 June 11 1951 age 71 Chicago Illinois U S Political partyRepublicanEducationWestern Michigan University BS MA In 2008 Siljander was indicted on charges of money laundering conspiracy and obstruction of justice In 2010 he pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice and acting as an unregistered foreign agent In 2020 President Donald Trump pardoned Siljander Contents 1 Early life education and early career 2 Career 2 1 U S House of Representatives 2 2 Later career 2 3 Criminal conviction and pardon 3 References 4 External linksEarly life education and early career EditSiljander was born in Chicago Illinois and graduated from Oak Park and River Forest High School in 1969 3 He received a Bachelor of Science and Master of Arts from Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo Michigan 3 Career EditHe served as a trustee on Fabius Township Board in St Joseph County Michigan from 1972 to 1976 and also worked as a real estate broker 3 U S House of Representatives Edit Siljander served as a U S Representative from the Michigan s 4th congressional district from April 21 1981 to January 3 1987 He served on the House Foreign Affairs Committee 4 At the time of Siljander s election Michigan s 4th congressional district covered southwestern Michigan and included Three Rivers and Kalamazoo Time magazine noted that the district was predominantly conservative having elected only one Democrat in the twentieth century in 1932 5 Siljander was known as a dogmatic social conservative He criticized President Ronald Reagan s appointment of Sandra Day O Connor to the Supreme Court viewing her track record as insufficiently conservative 6 Time described him as a fundamentalist Christian During his race Siljander expressed opposition to the Equal Rights Amendment pornography abortion school busing and big spending as well as support for the neutron bomb the MX missile and prayer in public schools 5 In Congress Siljander s voting record was generally consistent with most other Republicans although he became known for his firebrand conservative rhetoric for example he denounced secular humanists as having a perverted philosophy 7 1981On January 27 1981 incumbent Congressman David Stockman resigned to serve as the director of the Office of Management and Budget in the Reagan administration In the following special Republican primary Siljander ranked first in a seven candidate field with a plurality of 37 8 He defeated Stockman endorsed tax attorney John Globensky 36 and State Senator John Mowat 22 9 10 In the April 1981 special general election he defeated Democratic Cass County Commissioner Johnie Rodebush 69 29 11 12 13 1982Siljander was challenged in the next Republican primary by attorney Harold Schuitmaker and defeated him 56 44 14 In the general election he won re election to a full term with 60 of the vote 15 1984Siljander was challenged again in the Republican primary and defeated Tim Horan 58 42 16 In the general election he won re election to a second full term with 67 of the vote 17 In 1984 Siljander sponsored a single sentence amendment which read For the purposes of this Act the term person shall include unborn children from the moment of conception Alexander Cockburn referred to the Siljander Amendment as the most far reaching of all the measures dreamed up by the conservative right to undercut Roe v Wade 18 It failed 186 219 19 In 1985 Siljander proposed legislation which would deny most favored nation status to countries that discriminate on cultural ethnic or religious grounds 20 21 1986Once again Siljander was challenged in the Republican primary this time by Fred Upton a staffer to Stockman Upton defeated Siljander 55 45 22 becoming the only Republican to unseat an incumbent in a primary that year 7 A key to his defeat was believed to be a tape sent to fundamentalist Christians in his district asking them to break the back of Satan by defeating Upton 23 Later career Edit Siljander was appointed by President Reagan as an alternate representative to the United Nations General Assembly serving from September 1987 to September 1988 3 He was an unsuccessful candidate in 1992 for nomination to the 103rd Congress from Virginia He stated then his message was not religious values as much as it s common sense American traditional values He campaigned on a budget freeze a ten percent flat tax and a line item veto 24 In the Republican primary Siljander came in second to Henry N Butler a law professor at George Mason University 25 Siljander is the president of Bridges to Common Ground 26 He also founded Trac5 27 with the stated goal to build a bridge between Islam Judaism and Christianity 28 Siljander s book A Deadly Misunderstanding A Congressman s Quest to Bridge the Muslim Christian Divide was a 2009 Nautilus Silver Award Winner 29 and has a foreword written by UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon with whom Siljander worked closely to resolve the humanitarian disaster in Darfur 30 Siljander was featured in the 2019 Netflix miniseries The Family which details the history and activities of The Fellowship a secretive Christian organization with ties to politicians and world leaders 31 Criminal conviction and pardon Edit On January 16 2008 Siljander was indicted in the federal district court in the Western District of Missouri on five counts including money laundering conspiracy and obstruction of justice 32 33 Siljander initially pleaded not guilty 34 but on July 7 2010 as part of a plea agreement Siljander pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice and acting as an unregistered foreign agent 35 On January 12 2012 he was sentenced to a year and a day in prison 36 The group for which Siljander worked as an unregistered foreign agent was the Islamic American Relief Agency a Columbus Missouri based Islamic charity with ties to terrorism which hired Siljander in early 2004 to lobby to get IARA removed from a Senate Finance Committee list of charities suspected of funding international terrorism 37 38 39 IARA closed in October 2004 after it was added to the Treasury Department s list of global terrorist organizations due to the group s links to Osama bin Laden al Qaida and the Taliban In December 2020 President Donald Trump pardoned Siljander praising his anti abortion record while a congressman and his post prison work abroad Trump s decision to pardon Siljander was criticized by Republican Congressman Fred Upton who succeeded Siljander after defeating him in the 1986 Republican primary 37 40 References Edit SILJANDER Mark Deli Biographical Information bioguide congress gov Relationships to Science Archived from the original on 2016 01 30 Retrieved 2016 01 22 a b c d Siljander Mark Deli Biographical Information United States Congress Retrieved 2008 01 16 Times Bernard Gwertzman and Special To the New York 1985 03 05 INVITATION TO A TICKLISH SITUATION The New York Times a b True Believer Time 1981 05 04 Archived from the original on January 20 2008 Retrieved 2010 05 12 John Block July 8 1981 Siljander Expresses Anger Over O Connor Nomination Toledo Blade via Google News Archive a b Christine C Lawrence Congressional Quarterly s Politics in America 2008 the 105th Congress Congressional Quarertly 1997 p 729 MI District 4 Special R Primary Race Mar 24 1981 Our Campaigns Retrieved 2012 08 07 The Argus Press Google News Archive Search news google com The Milwaukee Journal Google News Archive Search news google com MI District 4 Special Election Race Apr 21 1981 Our Campaigns Retrieved 2012 08 07 Toledo Blade Google News Archive Search news google com The Argus Press Google News Archive Search news google com MI District 4 R Primary Race Aug 10 1982 Our Campaigns Retrieved 2012 08 07 MI District 4 Race Nov 02 1982 Our Campaigns Retrieved 2012 08 07 MI District 4 R Primary Race Aug 06 1984 Our Campaigns Retrieved 2012 08 07 MI District 4 Race Nov 06 1984 Our Campaigns Retrieved 2012 08 07 Cockburn Alexander 2000 08 07 Don t Waste Your Vote brief article The Nation NCHLA Archived from the original on 2007 09 27 Retrieved 2008 01 23 Bill Summary amp Status 99th Congress 1985 1986 H R 2596 All Information THOMAS Library Of Congress Archived from the original on 2016 01 13 Retrieved 2012 01 14 Why Romania No Longer Deserves to Be a Most Favored Nation Archived from the original on 2008 01 20 Retrieved 2008 01 17 MI District 4 R Primary Race Aug 05 1986 Our Campaigns Retrieved 2012 08 07 Satan tape proved fatal for Siljander upi com 1986 08 06 Retrieved 2022 12 20 Baker Peter 1992 03 22 Former Michigan Representative Enters Race for N Va s New Seat The Washington Post Hsu Evelyn Peter Baker 1992 06 10 McSlarrow Butler Win N Va Races GOP Primaries Fill Congressional Slates The Washington Post Bridges to Common Ground About Bridges Learn More Archived from the original on 2016 01 29 Retrieved 2016 01 22 About Trac5 Our Mission Archived from the original on 2016 01 31 Retrieved 2016 01 22 About Trac5 Board Directors Archived from the original on 2016 01 31 Retrieved 2016 01 22 2009 NAUTILUS BOOK AWARDS SILVER WINNERS Archived from the original on May 17 2009 Retrieved 2009 05 06 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint bot original URL status unknown link Farley Maggie 2008 01 19 Indicted ex lawmaker as diplomat Los Angeles Times Retrieved 2010 05 12 Gilbert Sophie 2019 08 14 The Patriarchal Allure of The Family The Atlantic Retrieved 2021 01 04 Former lawmaker charged in terrorism case CNN Associated Press 2008 01 16 Archived from the original on January 18 2008 Retrieved 2008 01 16 Islamic charity charged with terrorist financing press release US Attorney s Office Western District of Missouri 2008 01 16 Archived from the original on 2008 01 20 Retrieved 2008 01 16 Ex lawmaker pleads not guilty in money laundering case LakeExpo com 2008 01 29 Retrieved 2016 01 15 Chris Killian Pity disbelief expressed for Mark Siljander Former Southwest Michigan congressman pleads guilty to federal charges Kalamazoo Gazette July 8 2010 Accessed August 31 2011 Former Michigan congressman Mark Siljander sentenced to year in federal prison a b Egan Paul Donald Trump s latest pardons include former Michigan congressman Mark Siljander Detroit Free Press Retrieved 2020 12 24 Frank James July 7 2010 Former Lawmaker Guilty Of Obscuring Tie To Suspected Terror Charity NPR C M Matthews January 12 2012 Former Congressman Gets One Year For Lobbying For Terror Sponsor Wall Street Journal IARA hired Siljander in 2004 to lobby for its removal from a U S Senate Finance Committee list of charities suspected of funding international terrorism and its reinstatement as an approved government contractor Egan Paul December 24 2020 Donald Trump s latest pardons include former Michigan Congressman Mark Siljander Detroit Free Press Archived from the original on December 25 2020 Retrieved 2020 12 26 John Agar December 24 2020 Michigan Republican stunned by President Trump s pardon of ex congressman MLive Archived from the original on December 24 2020 Retrieved December 27 2020 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint uses authors parameter link External links EditSiljander at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress Author s page on Amazon Global Strategies Inc Trac5 Bridges to Common Ground A Deadly Misunderstanding Appearances on C SPANU S House of RepresentativesPreceded byDavid Stockman Member of the U S House of Representativesfrom Michigan s 4th congressional district1981 1987 Succeeded byFred UptonU S order of precedence ceremonial Preceded byTommy F Robinsonas Former US Representative Order of precedence of the United Statesas Former US Representative Succeeded byBill Schuetteas Former US Representative Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Mark D Siljander amp oldid 1128512334, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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