Herman Cain has drawn fire from a Muslim advocacy group after he slammed Sharia law and the spread of the Muslim faith in America.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) accused Cain of “bigoted speech” after the Atlanta businessmantold a bloggerthat he would not appoint a Muslim to his cabinet or as a federal judge if elected president.
Asked whether there would be a place for a Muslim appointee in Cain’s administration, Cain flatly said “No.”
“There is this creeping attempt to gradually ease Sharia law and the Muslim faith into our government. It does not belong in our government,” he told a Think Progress blogger.
He continued, “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 on the rest of us.”
Ibrahim Hooper, the Council on American-Islamic Relations’ national communications director, told CNN that Cain’s words were “even going beyond the almost routine Muslim-bashing we see coming from the right wing of the political spectrum.”
“Even post 9/11 you didn’t have this level of mainstreaming of anti-Muslim hate as you have now,” Hooper said.
Cain, who is an associate pastor at an Atlanta church, has previously joined the ranks of Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum in shooting down the Islamic religious law, saying it has no place in America.