US Muslims fear new wave of Islamophobia fueled by GOP candidates
American Muslims fear that a new wave of Islamophobia is spreading across the United States, fueled by comments made by two of the Republican Party’s most popular presidential candidates, Donald Trump and Ben Carson.
Followers of the Islamic faith in the US have responded with a mix of frustration, exasperation and anger to the Islamophobic views expressed by leading GOP candidates that many say are stoking anti-Muslim tensions in the country.
Tensions were already mounting earlier this month at the Islamic Institute of Orange County in Anaheim, California, since a group of white men shouted at mothers and kids arriving at the center on this year’s anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, calling them cowards who did not belong in the US.
Many of America’s approximately 3 million Muslims say such tensions could increase during a US presidential race that they fear is already injecting anger and bigotry.
“It’s pretty troubling that someone running for president would make those claims,” Zuhair Shaath, a Palestinian-American, said of Carson, a retired African-American neurosurgeon who on Sunday said Muslims were unfit for the US presidency.
On Monday, Carson said he "absolutely" stood by his comments but would support a Muslim candidate who rejects the basic tenets of Islam and places the US constitution above his religion.
Nihad Awad, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said Carson should "withdraw from the presidential race because he is unfit to lead, because his views are inconsistent with the United States Constitution."
The bigoted comments by Carson followed Trump’s failure to challenge comments made on Friday by a supporter who described US President Barack Obama as a Muslim and a foreigner.
Trump is currently on top and Carson is second in opinion polls among the crowded field of Republican candidates for the 2016 presidential election.
Some Muslim Americans say they fear that the divisive remarks could strengthen the appeal of Trump and Carson in a race in which controversial comments laced with xenophobia and misogyny have failed to diminish the popularity of candidates.
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