It is alarming that the primary debates in the US presidential election are turning into a flurry of anti-Muslim comments by some of the Republican presidential aspirants competing to replace Barack Obama, creating an ugly undercurrent of religious bigotry.
Republican candidate Ben Carson started the controversy by saying that Muslims were unfit to be president of the United States, arguing their faith was inconsistent with American principles. The remarks by Carson, who is near the top in opinion polls, followed a controversy triggered by front-runner Donald Trump when he declined to correct a man who said President Obama is Muslim and not an American citizen during a question and answer session last Thursday in New Hampshire.
Carson has refused to back off from his comment and his aides are saying the flap would actually help him in the primary, with polls showing that Republican voters are deeply suspicious about Islam, a dangerous trend in the American politics which cannot be encouraged.
Another Republican candidate, Jeb Bush, who is the brother of former president George W Bush, says the US should only take Christian refugees from Iraq and Syria whose lives are in danger. The former Florida governor apparently doesn’t think the US should give refuge to Muslims, echoing statements by some European leaders. It is not a secret that Jewish and Christian lobbying groups have an upper hand in US presidential elections and both Republican and Democrats have benefited from these tie-ups.
American Muslims feel exasperated by the growing wave of Islamophobia fuelled by Republican candidates that sparked allegations of religious bigotry. It came at a time when a 14-year-old Muslim boy from Texas was taken away in handcuffs last week for bringing to his school a homemade clock that was mistaken for a bomb.
The Republican leaders who indulge in anti-Muslim rhetoric to appease Jewish and Christian voters must learn the history of the nation. The founders of the United States have recognised Islam as one of the world’s great faiths and one of the founding fathers and the third president Thomas Jefferson’s contribution to the Library of the US Congress includes two volumes of Holy Quran. It is a welcome sign that the Democratic presidential candidate and former secretary of state Hillary Clinton has announced her support for a Muslim to assume the position of president of the US quoting article VI of the constitution. The candidates who adopt dangerous communal views are challenging the very concept of religious freedom enshrined in the US constitution. One cannot imagine a future US president subscribing to the views of far-right leaders of some European countries who propagate anti-Islam sentiments.
It is alarming that the primary debates in the US presidential election are turning into a flurry of anti-Muslim comments by some of the Republican presidential aspirants competing to replace Barack Obama, creating an ugly undercurrent of religious bigotry.
Republican candidate Ben Carson started the controversy by saying that Muslims were unfit to be president of the United States, arguing their faith was inconsistent with American principles. The remarks by Carson, who is near the top in opinion polls, followed a controversy triggered by front-runner Donald Trump when he declined to correct a man who said President Obama is Muslim and not an American citizen during a question and answer session last Thursday in New Hampshire.
Carson has refused to back off from his comment and his aides are saying the flap would actually help him in the primary, with polls showing that Republican voters are deeply suspicious about Islam, a dangerous trend in the American politics which cannot be encouraged.
Another Republican candidate, Jeb Bush, who is the brother of former president George W Bush, says the US should only take Christian refugees from Iraq and Syria whose lives are in danger. The former Florida governor apparently doesn’t think the US should give refuge to Muslims, echoing statements by some European leaders. It is not a secret that Jewish and Christian lobbying groups have an upper hand in US presidential elections and both Republican and Democrats have benefited from these tie-ups.
American Muslims feel exasperated by the growing wave of Islamophobia fuelled by Republican candidates that sparked allegations of religious bigotry. It came at a time when a 14-year-old Muslim boy from Texas was taken away in handcuffs last week for bringing to his school a homemade clock that was mistaken for a bomb.
The Republican leaders who indulge in anti-Muslim rhetoric to appease Jewish and Christian voters must learn the history of the nation. The founders of the United States have recognised Islam as one of the world’s great faiths and one of the founding fathers and the third president Thomas Jefferson’s contribution to the Library of the US Congress includes two volumes of Holy Quran. It is a welcome sign that the Democratic presidential candidate and former secretary of state Hillary Clinton has announced her support for a Muslim to assume the position of president of the US quoting article VI of the constitution. The candidates who adopt dangerous communal views are challenging the very concept of religious freedom enshrined in the US constitution. One cannot imagine a future US president subscribing to the views of far-right leaders of some European countries who propagate anti-Islam sentiments.
