Donald J. Trump
angered Hispanics when he referred to immigrants as criminals and
rapists during the kickoff of his campaign in June. This week, he has
put American Muslims on edge by suggesting that he would be open to
shutting down mosques as president.
Asked on Fox Business
Network if the United States should take action to close certain mosques
as part of the fight against the Islamic State, as has happened in
Britain, Mr. Trump said, “I would do that, absolutely.”
Mr. Trump then said
that he was not sure about the legality of closing mosques, but that it
was certainly something that should be looked at.
“It depends if the mosque is, you know, loaded for bear,” he said.
The Council of
American-Islamic Relations, an advocacy group for Muslims, said on
Wednesday that Mr. Trump was calling for an infringement on religious
freedom.
“Donald Trump’s
apparent willingness to close down American mosques that he deems
‘extreme’ is totally incompatible with the Constitution and our nation’s
cherished principle of religious freedom,” said Robert McCaw, a
government affairs manager for the group.
Mr. Trump drew
criticism from Muslim groups last month when he did not rebut a
supporter who said: “We have a problem in this country. It’s called
Muslims.”
Muslims have taken
offense to remarks from Mr. Trump and Ben Carson, one of his leading
rivals for the nomination, who said he did not think a follower of Islam
should be president.
For his part, Mr. Trump has said he is concerned about religious extremists, not Muslims generally.
“I love the Muslims,” he said in September. “I think they’re great people.”
