Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson has called for a federal investigation into whether the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has ties to terrorism.
The retired neurosurgeon released a policy proposal on Tuesday to take on the largest Muslim advocacy group in the United States once gain.
“The (US) Department of State should designate the Muslim Brotherhood and other organizations that propagate or support Islamic terrorism as terrorist organizations, and fully investigate the Council on American-Islamic Relations as an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood and a supporter of terrorism,” Carson wrote.
The row between the two initially began in late September, when the GOP candidate said a Muslim president should not be allowed into the White House.
CAIR responded at the time by calling on Carson to drop out of the 2016 presidential race.
The advocacy group also redacted to Carson’s so-called policy proposal, accusing him of a “lack of commitment to uphold the (US) Constitution.”
“Ben Carson is a failing candidate grasping at straws and seeking payback for CAIR's previous criticism of his anti-Muslim bigotry and his lack of commitment to uphold the Constitution,” CAIR spokesman Ibrahim Hooper said in a statement on Tuesday. “He found that Islamophobia gave him a boost in the past, so he is trying it again.”
Carson also called for a formal declaration of war against Daesh Takfiri terrorists, in which the US has already been engaged but to no avail.
Anti-Islam rhetoric peaked among GOP candidates after billionaire developer and former reality TV star Donald Trump called for a “complete” ban on Muslims entering the US.