H/T Dorrie
Herman Cain On Communities Banning Mosques: They Have A Right To Do That
Video (in link above) between Chris Wallace (Fox) and Herman Cain
by Frances Martel | 12:13 pm, July 17th, 2011
The town of Murfreesboro, Tennessee is having their own version of the Ground Zero Mosque scandal, as an Islamic center proposed in the town is facing significant opposition. Among those opposed to building it is Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain, who appeared on Fox News Sunday today and asserted that communities have a right to ban mosques from their community.
Our Constitution guarantees separation of church and state. Islam combines church and state, Cain argued, as host Chris Wallace maintained that separation of church and state permits mosques to exist in any community. To Cain, however, the problem was not Islam as a religion, but Islam as a set of laws. American laws in American courts, he repeated, a mantra he used in the latest Republican primary debate. It is not just a mosque for religious purposes.
Wallace argued that he did not quite understand what was wrong with Murfreesboro that would prevent a mosque from existing there without controversy this isnt Ground Zero in New York City, its not hallowed ground. Dont Americans have a right, of any religion, under a Constitution which you speak so much about
Cain retorted that to the people of Murfreesboro, it is hallowed ground and that he agreed with them in their objection to the intentions of trying to get Sharia Law. Theyre objecting to the fact that Islam is both a religion and a set of laws, Cain continued. So Wallace asked the inevitable question: does any community have the right to ban mosques? Yes, they have a right to do that, Cain replied, without skipping a beat. He later added that, while he is not willing to discriminate based on religion, Id rather err on the side of caution.
GOP’s Herman Cain says planned TN mosque would gradually sneak Islamic law into US
By Associated Press, Published: July 14
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain opposes a planned Tennessee mosque that has been the subject of protests and legal challenges.
Cain didn’t bring up the controversial facility in a campaign rally on Thursday, but told reporters afterward that hes concerned about the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro.
Cain told reporters afterward that he opposes a planned mosque that has been the subject of protests and legal challenges.
It is an infringement and an abuse of our freedom of religion, he said. And I dont agree with what’s happening, because this isn’t an innocent mosque.
The new mosque has been the subject of protests and counterprotests in the city about 35 miles southeast of Nashville.
A county judge ruled in May that the mosque construction does not harm the residents who sued to try to stop it, but he allowed them to move forward on claims the county violated an open meetings law in approving it.
Opponents have used the hearings to argue that the mosque is part of a plot to expand Islamic extremism in the U.S. Cain appeared to agree.
It is another example of why I believe in American laws and American courts, Cain said. This is just another way to try to gradually sneak Shariah law into our laws, and I absolutely objection to that.
Shariah is a set of core principles that most Muslims recognize and a series of rulings from religious scholars. It covers many areas of life and different sects have different versions and interpretations of the code. [This is not true. There is one set of laws for all Muslims with only niggly differences in wording, including the Shi’a sect. The only significant difference in the Shi’a version is the belief in the Mahdi’s return.—Dorrie]
Cain previously stirred controversy by saying that he would not want a Muslim bent on killing Americans in his administration.
Stephen Fotopulos, executive director of the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition, called Cain’s statements about the mosque ill-informed. [Well, he would, wouldn’t he? Cain is very well informed and that’s bad for the Muslim Brotherhood propaganda machine, so expect Cain to be villified by Islamists from now until forever, for simply telling a clearer story about Islamamic jurisprudence.—Dorrie]
The vast majority of Tennesseans believe strongly in our country’s founding principles of religious freedom, and support the rights of all Murfreesboro residents to practice their faith without interrogation or persecution, Fotopulos said in a statement. [No, I’d say that’s not accurate, given the enormous outcry against this mosque.]
Cain, the former chief executive of Godfather’s Pizza, spent much of the day making talk radio appearances, and his event in Murfreesboro drew hundreds to the courthouse square. Police diverted traffic to protect dozens who spilled out into the street.
Bill Ruark, of Tyler, Texas, said he decided to attend the rally after hearing Cain on the radio earlier in the day in Nashville, where Ruarks son is recording a country music video.
He wants to define who are our enemies right now, and who are our allies, he said. Morally, hes not afraid to say he’s a Christian. He’s not trying to force it down peoples throats, and I appreciate that. And hes not afraid to say who he is.
Donah Hall, a postal worker in Murfreesboro, said she was impressed by Cain, but isnt sure about his electoral prospects.
Im just learning about him, and I was very pleased, she said. Im not sure come six months or nine months from now who Ill support.
But it will definitely be a Republican, and not Barack Hussein Obama, Hall said. I think he has just about broke our country up.
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