Pat Robertson says he fears Muslims in US government
By Tom Hamburger, Chicago Tribune
WASHINGTON -- Televangelist and onetime presidential candidate Pat Robertson said Sunday that he would be wary of appointing Muslims to top positions in the U.S. government, including judgeships.
His comments on ABC's "This Week" drew heated responses from Muslim leaders who decried them as racist and inaccurate.
Robertson, who helped found the Christian Coalition and launched a brief presidential bid in 1988, said that if he were ever elected president he would not appoint Muslims to serve in his Cabinet and that he doesn't favor Muslims serving as judges.
"They have said in the Koran there's a war against all the infidels," he said. "Do you want somebody like that sitting as a judge? I wouldn't."
The comments drew fire immediately from Muslim organizations.
"Pat Robertson has taken his far-right-wing rhetoric to absurd levels," said Arsalan Iftikhar, national legal director for the Council on American Islamic Relations. "He is trying to perpetuate this notion that Islam is a monolithic entity inherently at odds with modernity and democracy.
"That is absolutely false. ... American Muslims have long been contributing members of American society, and I guarantee to Mr. Robertson that Muslims will one day become part of the federal bench--whether or not he likes it."
Another conservative Christian leader, Rev. Lou Sheldon, said he was inclined to agree with Robertson's view of Islam. The founder of the Traditional Values Coalition urged Islamic leaders to clarify their views.
Also Sunday, Robertson praised former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, saying that despite his views on gay rights and abortion, Giuliani would make "a good president."
Robertson said he didn't think Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) would run for president. "I just don't see him as a future president," Robertson said.
Sheldon said Giuliani would have difficulty drawing support from the Republican base unless he adjusted his views on gay rights and abortion.
Sheldon praised Frist as a potential candidate and said he expects the Tennessee Republican to run.
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