"He is unfit to lead," Nihad Awad, executive director of the Council of American-Islamic Relations, said. He was speaking of Republican primary candidate Ben Carson, who recently ruffled feathers with some comments he made about the presidency, according to CNN.
Carson was speaking on NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday when he said that he does not advocate a Muslim president. Carson is currently polling at third place in the Republican primary, behind leader Donald Trump and new second place holder, Carly Fiorina, as previously reported by HNGN. All three of the top candidates have no experience in politics. Carson is a retired neurosurgeon.
The comments stem from a Trump controversy, when he did not correct a commenter at a public speaking event who said that President Barack Obama is a Muslim, according to The Huffington Post. Doug Watts, spokesperson for the Carson campaign, responded to the ongoing controversy. "[Carson] did not say that a Muslim should be prevented from running, or barred from running in any way," Watts said. "There is a huge gulf between the faith and practice of the Muslim faith, and our Constitution and American values."
"The protection of freedom of religion in America is a fundamental principle of our country so whether you are Christian, you are Jewish, you are Muslim, you are Catholic, you are black, you are brown, you are white - if you are born in this country, if you uphold Constitution, if you have the vision, if you are fit to lead, you can lead irrespective of your faith tradition," Awad said, CNN reported.
The Carson camp is not backing down from the controversial comments. "While the left wing is huffing and puffing over it, Republican primary voters are with us at least 80-20," Carson campaign manager Barry Bennett said, according to Fox News.
The Pew Research Center took a survey in May showing that Muslims are growing in numbers in the U.S., now, accounting for nearly one percent of the total population.
