By Shannon Travis
CNN
A leading Muslim advocacy group accused potential presidential candidate Herman Cain of spewing “bigoted speech” Monday following remarks he made at a conservative conference last weekend.
While attending the Conservative Principles Conference last weekend in Iowa, Cain told a reporter- if he became president – he would not appoint a Muslim to his cabinet or as a federal judge.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) expressed outrage on Monday, saying Cain’s words show how “right wing” conservatives are currently engaging in Muslim bashing.
“Even post 9/11 you didn’t have this level of mainstreaming of anti-Muslim hate as you have now,” said Ibrahim Hooper, National Communications Director for CAIR.
Cain’s comments came in response to a question from a reporter for liberal-leaning Think Progress about potentially appointing a Muslim in a Cain administration.
“No, I will not,” Cain responded. “And here’s why. There is this creeping attempt, there is this attempt to gradually ease Sharia law and the Muslim faith into our government. It does not belong in our government. This is what happened in Europe. And little by little, to try and be politically correct, they made this little change, they made this little change. And now they’ve got a social problem that they don’t know what to do with hardly.”
Sharia law is derived from the Quran, the holy book of Islam. It informs Muslims with rules on how to live their everyday lives – including how to fast and how to pray. Some Muslim countries use Sharia law as a basis for their laws, particularly concerning crimes against Allah, against society and crimes of revenge.
Cain continued by recounting a question he’d recently received.
“I was asked, ‘What is the role of Islam in America?’ I thought it was an odd question. I said, ‘The role of Islam in America is for those that believe in Islam to practice it and leave us alone. Just like Christianity. We have a First Amendment. And I get upset when the Muslims in this country – some of them – try to force their Sharia law onto the rest of us.’”
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