Ben Carson’s Muslim President remarks are more about the Constitution that Islamophobia
Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson suggested Sunday that a Muslim should not be president, saying that “I would not advocate that we put a Muslim in charge of this nation,” on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “I absolutely would not agree with that.” Carson campaign spokesman Doug Watts clarified the comments against the headlines: “He did not say that a Muslim should be prevented from running, or barred from running in any way,” Watts said. “He [Carson] just doesn’t believe the American people are ready for that.”
The full clip is below, beginning with questions on experience, foreign policy, dealing with Syria and Iraq conflicts before the questions turned in this direction, just before the 8:00 mark in the video.
Carson appears to point to the conflict between the Constitution and Sharia Law. When asked if a candidate’s faith should matter to voters, Carson said, “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.”
When asked if he thought Islam is consistent with the Constitution, Carson said, “No, I don’t, I do not.”
photo/ donkeyhotey
“Dr. Carson is a strict adherent to the First Amendment — freedom of religion. That includes people of all faith,” Watts said. “He has great respect for the Muslim community, but there is a huge gulf between the faith and practice of the Muslim faith, and our Constitution and American values.
“That can be disputed,” Watts continued. “That can be debated. But there’s pretty strong evidence to that effect.”
Carson’s comments come days after another Republican presidential candidate, Donald Trump, did not distance himself from a questioner at a town hall meeting in New Hampshire who accused President Obama of being a foreign-born Muslim.
Carson said he has “no reason to doubt” that President Obama was born in the United States and is a Christian.
U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison, who was the first Muslim elected to Congress, accused both Carson and Trump of “fear mongering.”
“For Ben Carson, Donald Trump, or any other Republican politician to suggest that someone of any faith is unfit for office is out of touch with who we are as a people,” the Democrat from Minnesota said.
“It’s unimaginable that the leading GOP presidential candidates are resorting to fear mongering to benefit their campaigns, and every American should be disturbed that these national figures are engaging in and tolerating blatant acts of religious bigotry,” he said in a statement issued on Sunday.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations on Sunday called for Carson to withdraw from the race.
“Mr. Carson clearly does not understand or care about the Constitution, which states that ‘no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office,'” the group’s national executive director, Nihad Awad, said in a statement.
Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders said in a statement Sunday that “I am very disappointed that Dr. Carson would suggest that a Muslim should not become president of the United States.”
“It took us too long to overcome the prejudice against electing a Catholic or an African-American president,” he said in a statement. “People should be elected to office based on their ideas, not their religion or the color of their skin.”
[…] Ben Carson's Muslim President remarks are more about the Constitution that Islamophobia […]
[…] Ben Carson's Muslim President remarks are more about the Constitution that Islamophobia […]
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