Mike Huckabee, former Arkansas Governor and current Fox News host, said on Monday that Muslims act like "uncorked animals" and support violence, The Huffington Post reported.
"Can someone explain to me why it is that we tiptoe around a religion that promotes the most murderous mayhem on the planet in their so-called 'holiest days,'" Huckabee began on his radio program. "You know, if you've kept up with the Middle East, you know that the most likely time to have an uprising of rock throwing and rioting comes on the day of prayer on Friday. So the Muslims will go to the mosque, and they will have their day of prayer, and they come out of there like uncorked animals -- throwing rocks and burning cars."
Huckabee's comments come in response to the recent terror alert that the U.S. State Department issued last week, closing American embassies around the world after threats from Al Qaeda-related groups.
After he finished his criticism, Huckabee suggested he was not generalizing all members of the Islamic community.
"You know, I'm just pointing out that for all of the demands that we're supposed to be so very polite, and I'm not saying all Muslims are radical and I am not saying that all Muslims are violent. I'm not," he said. "But we as a government recognize that the most likely times for them to erupt in some type of terrorist activity, violent storming of an embassy, is on their holy days."
To prove Muslims are most like to storm the embassy on their respective holidays, he compared Muslims to Christians, who usually celebrate the holidays being humbled by God.
"That's just not what we do. It never occurs to us that on the days in which we are supposed to be humbled by the presence of God that somehow we would rise up and kill innocent people including children," he said.
Huckabee acknowledged a likely backlash to his comments.
"And I know I'm likely to just get hammered for what I've just said," he said. "So be it. I bring it up because it just doesn't make sense to me."
Qasim Rashid, spokesperson for the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community USA, wrote a column in The Daily Caller to response to Huckabee's assertions.
"Al Qaeda, Taliban extremists, and Mike Huckabee have at least one thing in common - all believe Islam is a violent religion," Rashid begins. "Huckabee first dehumanizes Muslims, comparing them to animals, and once more provides no reference to support his claim. Had he bothered to read the Qur'an he would have discovered the clear commandment to Muslims upon leaving the mosque. And when the Prayer is finished, then disperse in the land and seek of Allah's grace, and remember Allah much, that you may prosper" (62:11)."
Rashid said Huckabee used no verses or factual information to back his claims. He also fires back at Huckabee's claim that Muslim holidays promote violence:
And when it comes to America's "holy days," a recent U.S. analysis determined that, "Christmas is the deadliest day of the year," and "More people die in hospital emergency wards, or arrive dead on arrival, on Christmas, Boxing Day and New Year's Day than on any other days of the year."
"He also leaves Huckabee with a long list of questions, based off of his judgments on Islam.
What would Huckabee think of a nation in which a person is murdered every 17 minutes? A nation with cities that have higher murder rates than war torn Iraq? Or a nation in which a rape occurs every 6 minutes? A nation in which 1 in 4 women will be raped before graduating college and 97% of rapists will never spend a day in jail? A nation in which a violent crime occurs every 26.2 seconds and a property crime occurs every 3.5 seconds? A nation that comprises 5% of the world's population but a world-leading 25% of the world's prison population?"
