Black Islamophobe Cain Continues
Walk-back Of Muslim Comments
02 May 2011By Juan Cole
Denials come days before Cain's Iowa appearance on
arm of Vander Plaats
In less than two weeks, former Godfather's Pizza chief
executive Herman Cain will return to Iowa as a
participant in a religious conservative group's
presidential lecture series. For now, however, he is
traveling the nation as a GOP presidential candidate
and speaking with conservative-friendly media outlets
in hopes of lessening the damage his remarks
concerning Muslims have caused.
On Tuesday, Cain appeared on out-going Fox News host
Glenn Beck's radio program, and reiterated his belief
that earlier comments he had made about Muslims had
been "misconstrued."
"I immediately said, without thinking, ‘No, I would
not be comfortable.' I did not say that I would not
have [Muslims] in my cabinet. If you look at my
career, I have hired good people regardless of race,
religion, sex gender, orientation and this kind of
thing."
When Cain was approached by a Think Progress blogger
in Des Moines following a late March Conservative
Principles Conference, however, he was very clear.
… Would you be comfortable appointing a Muslim, either
in your cabinet or as a federal judge?
Cain: "No, I would not. And here's why. There is this
creeping attempt, there is this attempted to gradually
ease Sharia law and the Muslim faith into our
government. It does not belong in our government. …
The question that was asked that ‘raised some
questions' and, as my grandfather said, ‘I does not
care, I feel the way I feel.' … "
The controversy also began in late March with an
interview Cain gave to reporter Trevor Persaud of
Christianity Today:
… When speaking about your battle with cancer at the
Milner church, at one point, you indicate that you
were a little uncomfortable when you found out that
your surgeon's name was Abdallah, until you found out
he was a Lebanese Christian. So what's your
perspective on the role of Muslims in American
society?
The role of Muslims in American society is for them to
be allowed to practice their religion freely, which is
part of our First Amendment. The role of Muslims in
America is not to convert the rest of us to the Muslim
religion. That I resent. Because we are a
Judeo-Christian nation, from the fact that 85 percent
of us are self-described Christians, or evangelicals,
or practicing the Jewish faith. Eighty-five percent.
One percent of the practicing religious believers in
this country are Muslim.
And so I push back and reject them trying to convert
the rest of us. And based upon the little knowledge
that I have of the Muslim religion, you know, they
have an objective to convert all infidels or kill
them. Now, I know that there are some peaceful Muslims
who don't go around preaching or practicing that.
Well, unfortunately, we can't sit back and tolerate
the radical ones simply because we know that there are
some of them who don't believe in that aspect of the
Muslim religion. …
While referring to the "several crises facing this
country," Cain specifically took on what he perceives
as a "moral" crisis, saying that such problems would
need to "be solved in our families, our communities,
and in our various religious institutions." But then
Cain clarified that he didn't believe all religions
had a role to play in combating the moral crisis by
noting that "Christians, evangelicals, Jews, believers
of all types when it comes to biblically-based
religions, are going to have to step up more, and push
back more, and not allow our Christian beliefs to be
intimidated."
And, roughly two weeks after speaking with Think
Progress and the Christianity Today interview, Cain
appeared on Bryan Fischer‘s radio program to further
explain and assure the religious conservative talk
show host and his audience that he was not afraid of
being labeled a bigot for speaking the truth about his
feelings regarding Muslims.
"I have been upfront, which ruffles some feathers, but
remember, Bryan, being politically correct is not one
of my strong points. I come at it straight from the
heart and straight from the way I see it. And the
comment that I made that became controversial, and
that my staff keeps hoping will die, is that I
wouldn't have Muslims in my administration. And it's
real simple: The Constitution does not have room for
sharia law. I want people who are going to believe and
enforce the Constitution of the United States of
America. And so I don't have time, as President of the
United States, to try and screen people based upon
their religious beliefs — I really don't care what
your religious believes are, but I do know that most
of the people of the Muslim faith, they believe in
sharia law. And to introduce that element as part of
an administration when we have all of these other
issues, I think I have a right to say that I won't."
Watch the exchange with Fischer:
Fischer is the director of issue analysis for
government and public policy for the controversial and
anti-gay religious organization American Family
Association, which was one of the key national
organizations that bank-rolled the successful effort
by Bob Vander Plaats, now heading The Family Leader,
to oust three Iowa Supreme Court justices up for
retention who took part in a unanimous decision that
found a legislative ban on same-sex marriage to be in
violation of Iowa's equal protection clause.
Fischer insinuated on his blog in March that Muslims
don't have First Amendment rights.
When Cain returns to Iowa next month, he — like
several other 2012 GOP hopefuls including Michele
Bachmann, Tim Pawlenty, Rick Santorum, Ron Paul and,
in July, Newt Gingrich — will appear beside Vander
Plaats at a speaking event hosted and organized by The
Family Leader, which continues to battle against the
Iowa Judicial Branch, for a complete ban on all
contraceptives and abortion services and for areturn
of the unconstitutional ban on same-sex marriage. Cain
is scheduled to speak on June 6 at Dordt College in
Sioux Center, Pella Christian High School in Pella and
the University of Iowa campus in Iowa City.
Another anti-Islam protest comes
to Dearborn
Another protest over what organizers call "radical
strains" of Islam is planned on Saturday in front of
Dearborn City Hall.
The Order of the Dragon, a pro-Israeli group, is
planning the 3 p.m. demonstration to call attention to
the "implementation of Sharia" or Islamic law in some
court rulings, said Frank Fiorello, the head of the
group's Michigan chapter.
"We have a lot of people worried about Sharia creeping
into family court," said Fiorello, a Marlette
resident. "There are 23 different jurisdictions where
Sharia is being implemented in family court." Fiorello
did not provide specifics, but said there are recent
cases in Ann Arbor District Court.
Other groups participating in the rally include the
American Defense League, ACT! For America and David
Horowitz's Freedom Center's Palestinian Wall of Lies,
Fiorello said.
Fiorello, a Detroit native, was scheduled to host
controversial Florida Pastor Terry Jones' protest in
Dearborn on April 22 but Fiorello backed off his
protest after meeting with Dearborn Mayor John
O'Reilly and a member of an interfaith group.
Jones ended up protesting a week later after being
ordered by a Dearborn district judge that he would
have to post a peace bond if he wanted to protest
outside the Islamic Center of America on Good Friday.
Fiorello also said he backed away from Jones after a
difference of option about how the protest should be
handled. "We're not wanting to be involved in shock
tactics," said Fiorello. "That is not our route."
Jones, meanwhile, has planned to protest against
"radical Islam" at the Arab American International
Festival in Dearborn next month.
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