Donald Trump has an open invitation to visit the oldest mosque in the U.S., should he wish to do so.
Taha Tawil, the imam of the Iowa-based Mother Mosque of America, told Time Magazine Tuesday he would be delighted to learn more about the Republican presidential front-runner’s proposals from Trump himself. Thus, he is willing to host the controversial celebrity candidate his mosque in Cedar Rapids.
“As an imam and director of the first mosque of North America, I, Imam Tawil, declare that we would love to have our candidate Donald Trump to come and talk to his fellow citizens who have been born here, whose parents were born here, as Americans, to come talk to us about his plans, to come to tell us his philosophy, and to tell us how he can help us out as American citizens,” Tawil told Time.
While Tawil opposes much of Trump’s rhetoric and the billionaire’s call for a “total and complete ban” on non-American Muslims seeking to enter the U.S., he understands that candidates will often say things at the expense of others if their remarks keep them in the limelight or bolster their overall support.
“[They] say things to market themselves, and get us votes … it is their job to make us look bad,” he said, later adding that he couldn’t “deny that the comments of Mr. Donald Trump and Dr. Ben Carson have been very hurtful and very damaging.”
“Right now I am sure I will not vote for [Trump], that is 100 [percent]. But as a religious leader, I cannot tell people what to do,” Tawil said.
Tawil’s invitation to Trump comes the same day the leading GOP candidate’s provocative first television ad begins airing in Iowa. The 30-second ad, which is also running in New Hampshire, highlights Trump’s proposed ban on Muslims and a handful of other controversial ideas he’s voiced during the election cycle.
Trump’s campaign did not respond to Washington Examiner’s request for comment regarding Tawil’s invitation. No other 2016 hopeful has previously visited, or currently plans to visit Tawil’s mosque.
