Muslims To Ben Carson: No Bigots In White House

An influential Muslim group called on Ben Carson to withdraw from the Republican race for president Monday, a day after he said Islam is not compatible with American values.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations, the largest Muslim advocacy organization in the United States, said Carson’s comments made him unfit for the White House.

“To me this really means he is not qualified to be president of the United States,” Ibrahim Hooper, the group’s spokesman told The New York Times. “You cannot hold these kinds of views and at the same time say you will represent all Americans, of all faiths and backgrounds.”

The Carson campaign opened the week with damage control.

Doug Watts, a spokesman for the campaign, responded to the criticism of the candidate’s statements in an NBC news article.

“He did not say that a Muslim should be prevented from running or barred from running in any way,” Watts said. “He just doesn’t believe the American people are ready for that.”

Here’s what Carson originally said on Sunday’s broadcast of “Meet the Press”: “I would not advocate that we put a Muslim in charge of this nation. I absolutely would not agree with that,” Carson said.

Not only Muslims were critical of Carson for that statement.

His words have also drawn criticism from presidential candidates in both parties including Ted Cruz, Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton.

What will all this mean to Carson’s campaign?

Not much, at least as far as the GOP nomination goes, said Emory University professor and election expert Alan Abramowitz. Those remarks in a general election, though, could be a different story.

In fact, the statements may end up appealing to likely Republican voters who are starting to learn more about his personal views and policies. Policies which, according to Abramowitz, are more consistently conservative than some other Republican candidates such as frontrunner Donald Trump.

“He lacks trump’s bombastic style,” Abramowitz said, “Personality-wise he is very different from Trump, but in the past he has made some statements that are pretty extreme.” Abramowitz said.

In a recent poll conducted by CNN and ORC International, Carson is viewed more favorably than any other Republican presidential candidate. Among registered Republicans, Carson is viewed favorably by 65 percent of people polled, and unfavorably by 10 percent. In the same poll, he has fallen to third place, behind Trump and Carly Fiorina.

Among the general electorate, including swing voters and independents, many may see Carson’s comments, “as a sign of bigotry and religious discrimination,” Abramowitz said.