Republican presidential hopeful Ben Carson said Sunday no Muslim should be president of the United States, adding a new twist to a controversy roiling the party’s White House nominating race.
In an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Carson, a retired brain surgeon who often refers to his own deep Christian faith, was asked whether a president’s religion should matter.
“I guess it depends on what that faith is. If it’s inconsistent with the values and principles of America, then of course it should matter. But if it fits within the realm of America and consistent with the constitution, no problem,” he said.
Asked whether he believes Islam is consistent with the US constitution, he responded: “No, I don’t. I do not.”
“I would not advocate that we put a Muslim in charge of this nation. I absolutely would not agree with that,” he added
The issue abruptly surfaced in recent days when Republican frontrunner Donald Trump let pass unchallenged a questioner’s assertion that US President Barack Obama was a Muslim.
Trump later said he was not “morally obligated” to defend Obama against the man’s unfounded claim, but his handling of the incident drew fire from Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton, the White House and some Republican rivals of the billionaire real estate mogul.
Carson, who slipped to third among Republican presidential contenders in opinion polls Sunday after running second to Trump for weeks, said he believed Obama was born in the United States and is a Christian.
His remarks predictably sparked ire from Democrats.
Senator Bernie Sanders, a presidential hopeful, said on the campaign trail in New Hampshire that he was “disappointed” in Carson, who is black.
“It took us too long to overcome the prejudice against electing a Catholic or an African-American president. People should be elected to office based on their ideas, not their religion or the color of their skin,” Sanders said.
Democratic National Committee chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a congresswoman from Florida, said it was “hard to understand what’s so difficult about supporting an American citizen’s right to run for president.”
“Of course a Muslim, or any other American citizen, can run for president, end of story. To think otherwise is not only harmful to our political process, but it elevates and validates discrimination in this country,” she said, calling for an apology. Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
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Ben Carson is telling it like it is. Americans do not understand Islam at all. They need to learn from the Australians. "Islam is peace" only when everyone is a Muslim, otherwise, Islam is war and violence. Islam, in its purest form, is violent and intolerant. A convert from Islam to Christianity said what won him over to the Christian faith was when he read in the Bible: "Love your enemies; bless and do not curse them. Pray for those who persecute you..." He said he was shocked because that is the exact opposite of what Islam teaches. Those Western countries that think Islam is peaceful and is only "misunderstood" are playing with fire. Very soon, the Muslims they are accepting will start to demand that the country's constitution be rewritten to suit Muslims. Can a Christian in Saudi Arabia ask for a constitutional amendment to suit Christians? United States is playing with fire, and it will burn them real bad. That is how United Kingdom became a breeding ground for Islamic extremists; now they don't know what to do about it.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous @ 12:10pm u don't understand what Islam stands for nd ur comment is not Wellcome here simple.
ReplyDeleteShut up,Islam is a cursed Religion.i am just pitying Europe for this rubbish they are doing now,allowing group of Terrorist into dere countries,Just within some years to come,they will see the repercussion of it....
DeleteI am not surprised at your reaction at that comment. This is a public forum and everyone is free to comment. I have read the Qu'ran for decades and have come to the conclusion that those of you who try to dissociate Islam from violence are the fake Muslims. You are trying to polish a violent religion to make it look civil. What is "fatwah"? It is an Islamic word. Does it not mean death? So how can you come here and try to pretend that Islam is peace-loving?
DeleteHave you not read that in Indonesia - the world's largest Muslim country, more than a million people every year are abandoning Islam as they realise that it is a violent religion?
By telling someone that his or her contribution is not welcome in a public online forum, you are exhibiting the exact intolerance that Islam is known for. It is people like you that would go out slaughtering those who believe differently from you. Tell us - why are Muslims in violence-proned areas of the world fleeing to Christian-dominated areas? Why do those fleeing ISIS in Syria and Iraq not run to other Muslim countries in the Middle East? Why are they running to "infidel" Europe?
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