An advocacy organization for Muslims in the U.S. blasted Donald Trump for failing to defend religious freedom, after the Republican front-runner said Wednesday he would consider closing down “extremist” mosques as president.
Trump was asked during an interview on Fox Business Wednesday whether he would enact, as president, the same anti-Islamic State initiatives launched by the British government which include revoking passports of citizens who left Europe to fight alongside Islamic State militants and closing mosques that host “extremist meetings or speakers.”
“I would do that, absolutely, I think it’s great,” he responded, before acknowledging that he hadn’t heard about Britain’s mosque-closing proposal and wasn’t sure how it would be fare under the U.S. Constitution’s religious freedom protections.
“It depends, if the mosque is, you know, loaded for bear, I don’t know. You’re going to have to certainly look at it,” Trump said.
Despite recognizing the potential roadblocks, Trump’s initial remark was enough to prompt the Council on American-Islamic Relations to issue the following statement Wednesday:
“Donald Trump’s apparent willingness to close down American mosques that he deems ‘extreme’ is totally incompatible with the Constitution and our nation’s cherished principle of religious freedom. The government should not be in the business of deciding what is acceptable free speech or religious belief. Donald Trump’s off-the-cuff remarks are both un-American, and un-presidential.”
CAIR’s Government Affairs Department Manager Robert McCaw, who issued the statement on behalf of the Council, also called on Trump to explain what constitutes “extremism” and how he would go about shutting down Muslim places of worship in the U.S.
Trump’s campaign has not yet responded to CAIR’s criticism of his remarks.
