As reported by the
Wall Street Journal, yesterday
CAIR-- the Council on American-Islamic Relations-- called for Dr. Ben Carson to withdraw from the contest for the Republican Presidential nomination, saying that Carson "is unfit to lead and because his views are inconsistent with the United States Constitution." The call comes after Carson, who identifies as a Seventh Day Adventist, said on Sunday's Meet the Press that a Muslim should not be made President and that Islam is inconsistent with the U.S. Constitution. (See
prior posting.) In an interview with
The Hill on Sunday, Carson expanded on his views:
I do not believe Sharia is consistent with the Constitution of this country. Muslims feel that their religion is very much a part of your public life and what you do as a public official, and that’s inconsistent with our principles and our Constitution.
According to The Hill:
Carson said that the only exception he’d make would be if the Muslim running for office “publicly rejected all the tenants of Sharia and lived a life consistent with that.”
... However, on several occasions Carson mentioned "Taqiyya," a practice in the Shia Islam denomination in which a Muslim can mislead nonbelievers about the nature of their faith to avoid religious persecution. “Taqiyya is a component of Shia that allows, and even encourages you to lie to achieve your goals,” Carson said.
CAIR says it will send each candidate in the primaries a copy of the Koran, and will send a copy to any American who requests it and pays the cost of shipping.
