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Freshman Rep. Allen West (R-FL), no stranger to controversy, is now receiving criticism from some religious leaders who want West to apologize for comments he made about a fellow member of Congress.
Today, four interfaith leaders sent a letter to West asking him to clarify statements he made about Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) on a local Florida show called, "The Shalom Show." During the interview, West is asked how he manages working with people in Congress that he disagrees with.
Interviewer: "Since you're with a new crowd of people you haven't really met before and will be very closely associating with in the future, including Keith Ellison who supports Islam. How will you manage that if I may ask? Because it's not really easy to be that polite often with individuals one totally disagrees with, which I believe may be the case."
Rep. West: "I think it's most important that I stand upon the principles that people elected me to go to Washington DC and represent them on Capitol Hill. So that when you run into someone that is counter or someone that really does represent the antithesis of the principles upon which this country was established. You've got to be able to defeat them intellectually in debate and discourse and you have to just be able to challenge each and every one of the assertions very wisely and very forthright."
Ellison is one of only two Muslim members of Congress and was targeted by Tea Party Nation, which sent an e-mail to members that said, in part, “Ellison is one of the most radical members of congress. He has a ZERO rating from the American Conservative Union. He is the only Muslim member of congress.”
One signatory, Rabbi David Saperstein, director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, said he initially found the comments "alarming." "We wanted to raise the issue and encourage him to clarify what he intended to say," said Saperstein.
West responded with a letter of his own today that offered some clarification:
"Let it be clear. It is the extremist, radical element that has hijacked Islam that presents a dangerous threat to both our country and our allies throughout the world. This radical jihadist movement has no place in the United States of America or anywhere on earth...The problem is, these fanatics are often supported by certain groups and organizations that masquerade as more peaceful moderates. Organizations such as CAIR have long histories of supporting violent anti-American and anti-Israel terrorist organizations such as Hamas, Hezbollah and the Muslim Brotherhood. These organizations operate within our borders, and as an elected official, I have an obligation to speak the truth and educate my constituency on the threat they pose...My comments in regards to my colleague Representative Keith Ellison, are not about his Islamic faith, but about his continued support of CAIR."
But the interfaith letter says West's remarks about Islam in the past have not been as carefully worded:
"Regrettably, this is just the latest example of your tendency to offer intemperate comments about Islam. At a town hall meeting during your campaign, you characterized Islam as America's enemy and asserted, "Islam is a totalitarian, theocratic political ideology; it is not a religion." Such untrue and inflammatory remarks intensify an unsettling trend of anti-Muslim rhetoric and fear in our country."
And yesterday, CNN reported that at a town hall, West responded to a question from the executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Miami, Nezar Hamze, who challenged West on his comments about Islam:
Me and my children choose to follow the faith of Islam. You consistently insult it. How can we expect you to defend our right and practice Islam as far as the Constitution is concerned?" Hamze asked.
"I will always defend your right to practice a free religion under the First Amendment," West said. "But what you must understand, if I am speaking the truth, I am not going to stop speaking the truth. The truth is not subjective," he continued to loud applause.
At the end of the letter, West wrote, "I certainly will take your concerns to heart, and hope that we can work together to continue to educate the American public on the importance of both understanding the threats we face, and exercising religious tolerance."
As of now the interfaith leaders are planning no response to West.
Leave a Comment:
So . A republican Disagreeing with a Democrat. is bad. We get it..
What does his Religion have to do with it? This Question is for our Host..
The question posed to West was designed to elicit a controversial response, but I saw nothing controversial about his answer. I guess the media felt duty bound to try to make it into a controversy anyway.
It didn't seem to work, as far as I can see.
From the story: ".... and exercising religious tolerance."
Why the hell would anyone be concerned about THAT? Don't they know- OUR God is the ONLY 'true' one. Know how we know that? Becuase OUR bible says so, ya bunch of sillies.
Oh... the hits just keep on rolling! lol
Now where's my popcorn?
I always liked him as "Batman"...:)
To whom are you referring?
good one dangerfield
What Allan West said is nowhere close to even being controversial. He said he wanted to defeat them in debate.
This is beyond absurd, and MSNBC again carries water for the moonbatty Left.
This is MSNBC, part of the cabal the incompetent Obama in office. The guy who claimed that a three week vacation with a college friend to visit his family in Pakistan gave him the foreign policy experience he needed to be president.
We see how well that worked out.
Let me spell it out clearly: West is an African American. He is conservative republican. According to the "tolerant" views of the leftist elites, (and that would be the so-called journalists on this site), that makes him a buffoon. If you are African American, you MUST be a liberal democrat. Nothing else is tolerated.
Is that racism? I think so. It is up to you to decide if you believe it to be so.
Really no jo? Can you provide a link to Obama saying that?
Here ya go
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0508/10402_Page2.html
Read down to the paragraph that begins " In 1981. . ."
Yes, he used a three week vacation to claim that it bolstered his foreign policy credentials.
Imagine if Hillary had said that.
Or Palin.
Of course, you will find a way to twist or excuse this- but other people will not. ..
NDD - Amazing how Politico is NJNB newest BFF!
And the rest of the right wing nuts say NOTHING about it!
Guess they save the scorn for Think Progress! lmfao!
March on little drummer girl - march on!
No Joe,
That is strange. But no worse than Palin saying she had foreign policy experience because she could see Russia from Alaska.
Marcus...BIG PROBLEM That was not Palin but Tina Fey on Saturday Nite Live.
Not controversial? Do you live in Fla?
Feisty, your comments are funny. Where is good ole Cut&Paste to validate your response?
Why should he lie? He doesn't agree with or respect Islam? That's his right. He shouldn't have to apologize. He has beliefs just like everyone else and he has every right to them. Even if it upsets CAIR.
But that's not the libbie, you must be PC, way. That's why every kid gets a trophy, even last place, because the libbies don't want to hurt anyone's feelings.
For starters, it should be refreshing that a Representative speaks his mind, and not worry about being PC...it certainly is. Mr. West is reminding us that everyone has the right to the freedom of religion. However, he is also reminding us that some religions do not believe in "compassion" for others who do not share their religious views. Islam wants to see the total destruction of the Israeli State. Islam wants to turn America into a Sharia based Theocracy, they are generally not interested in conforming to Western society. What West is saying is that maybe Ellison himself does not share these Islamic views (though he may), but the majority of Muslims most certainly do.
The Left is afraid of West and those that agree with him. MSNBC in particular hates when he speaks, he's the antithesis of their "victim" narrative. Before we worry about being compassionate to the point of breaking our backs bending over backwards, let's see a Mosque openly welcome and embrace a Synagogue being built next door. Let's see the Muslims openly show true respect for the Jewish and Christian faiths.....I'll be right here waiting.
"Before we worry about being compassionate to the point of breaking our backs bending over backwards, let's see a Mosque openly welcome and embrace a Synagogue being built next door. Let's see the Muslims openly show true respect for the Jewish and Christian faiths.....I'll be right here waiting."
The call of a moral, compassionate and fair minded person is not to wait for others to extend kindness first. Morality is not contingent on the actions of others. If something is good and right to do, it should be done no matter what. I believe most Americans believe in kindness first. We have nothing to fear by allowing Islamic Mosques in our midst - except if we don't - and then we have lost the moral high ground of religious freedom and tolerance enshrined in our constitution and in our basic goodness.
Doug, I fully believe in religious freedom...unless those practicing the religion advocate my extinction or the imposition of religious law on our nation. I have no issue with mosques or churches being built anywhere the zoning allows. I believe in freedom of religion, speech, and assembly. That ends, however, when my religion, speech, or right of assembly is impinged upon. If a mosque is built and its members worship within the same bounds as Jews and Christians in the United States there is no problem. Those bounds, however, must be observed. This is a nation that respects religion but "...shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof...." All should worship freely, but all must understand that their worship gives them no license to restrict my rights to worship.
To deny that there is radical Islam is to bury your head in the sand. Any Muslim who has no problem with things as they are in the U.S. is more than welcome. Those who would advocate the imposition of their religious practices or beliefs on the rest of us are decidedly unwelcome.
Allen West. Another member of the conservative brain trust. God help us all.
Hey Patrick - you smarter than Allan West?
Really?
My parakeet is smarter then west. And less paranoid.
Patrick,
So what you are saying is you ahve a Bird that is smarter then you.
At the end of the letter, West wrote, "I certainly will take your concerns to heart, and hope that we can work together to continue to educate the American public on the importance of both understanding the threats we face, and exercising religious tolerance."
Aaah! My 'wonderful' new congressman, tolerant fellow isn't he? This guy has no intention of working with anyone to the left of him and that is saying something, he is so far right he is meeting himself coming and going.
This is another example of an angry former military (army) person, I somethimes wonder, what does the military teach these members of the armed services that turns some of them into angry embittered people. We seem to be seeing more and more as time goes by, and I wonder how they were when serving our country, did they represent our country honorably?
We are led to believe they do, so many of them have served honorably over time. We are taught to respect their service and we do. Yet I see some of these retired military post here and elsewhere, filled with anger and full of disrespect for a difference of opinion. This individual was forced to resign from the army because of his bad behaviour in Iraq.
What am I thinking right now...... and I thought you were a mind reader.
Gingerbread Momma,
Gee, a soldier who gets angry when his troops are killed by terrorists...what an unreasonable guy! His bad behavior consisted in threatening a killer to gain information to save the lives of those given to him in command. If that is unacceptable behavior to you then you and I will just have to agree to disagree.
By the way, wasn't the former congressman from this district the one who cut and pasted quotes so that it seemed like a speaker was saying something he wasn't? What a paragon of virtue and truth that guy is.
Hijacked is the wrong word. Islam has always been like like. In recent times some Muslim countries have passed laws against what the Islamic clerics want to do to people, like the country where that 14 year-old girl was recently murdered by clerics because she was molested by a married man. The clerics just ignored that it was illegal now. See: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-12344959
West is a bigot, plain and simple.
Awww Patrick, you are just prejudiced against people who are not as highly intelligent as you. And that's like 99% of the folks, right?
Patrick,
and you are just ignorant. Plain and Simple
Insert "Christian" here: "that I stand upon the *Christian* principles that people elected me..." He is a member of Community Christian Church in Tamarac, Florida (http://west.house.gov/about-me/full-biography). I've met people like this - they think this is a "Christian nation" and that God's hand was in them being elected. His statement "does represent the antithesis of the principles" speaks for itself. You have Muslim extremists, and then you have Christian extremists, like Rep. West.
Of course the difference is that we're still waiting for the first Christian extremists to start flying planes into buildings. I'll just pre-empt the waiting Timothy McVeigh answer. He was a nut in the Army and a nut ever after...not a Christian.
I would also point out that the "extremist" Rep. West was duly elected, not self-appointed.
What's wrong with Florida these days? Voting in this imbecile to represent them? Too much sun maybe? Me thinks so! Come on people. Let's vote intelligent Democrats, Republicans and Independents into office and stop giving comedy central and SNL material that other nations laugh at us over. Minnesota already has the Loon as their state bird, as represented by Michelle Bachmann quit well. Let's stay serious about government Florida.
Please, Ana Banana, Don't judge ALL OF US Floridians for the remarks of this disgraceful imbecile!!!!!!!
(Pointing Southeast) Put this one on Palm Beach County, FL.
As opposed to voting in a former writer/player for SNL?
Chef Darrell,
A former writer/player for SNL would be a vast improvement to West. I'm all for it.
Another racist remark by the annabanana. Do you, feisty and cut & paste get paid by msnbc by the response, no matter how stupid it may be?
Mr. West must have accomplished much, for the majority of florida voters elected him. and he didn't have to pull an AL GORE to get elected!
safecracker-1205811,
A racist remark! Really? That's the best you can do for a rebuttal? What a wimp!
While you fool around with this crap no one cares about ..The Muslim brotherhood just got 40 million young radicalized new members ....Good going !
I Must Be Dreaming (better knows as Glenn Beck Jr.) wants you to be afraid! Be Very afraid!
Must be a West supporter or Dick Cheney Jr. pushing for more war hence more money for his Industrialized War Machine.
If he only read about the Muslim Brotherhood like most of us did as soon as they were in the limelight. But no! He buys the crap from Fox and Beck.
West has a history of being an azz. Remind me again why Mr. West was booted out of the army? Who was he running against down in florida? Scarface?
The question at the town hall was valid. Why would anyone believe Representative West would represent all the people in his district when he has a bias against certain groups
not only is West ignorant of important facts surrounding Islanm he has a tendency to lie about the real facts surrounding this religion as a elected representative he is a danger to america - he will not survive the next two years
Article quote: "Rep. West: "I think it's most important that I stand upon the principles that people elected me to go to Washington DC and represent them on Capitol Hill. So that when you run into someone that is counter or someone that really does represent the antithesis of the principles upon which this country was established. You've got to be able to defeat them intellectually in debate and discourse and you have to just be able to challenge each and every one of the assertions very wisely and very forthright."
You're kidding, right? THIS is the comment that liberals are ticked off at West over?
Good Lord, use your brain, liberals. You each had one when you were born. What happened to it?
West responded clearly, articulately and didn't give a bunch of mumbo-jumbo in saying it (unusual for a politician) and non-offensively. He made it clear he was talking about attacking stupid ideas, not people.
Get a freaking clue.....
Although, why am I surprised. A conservative responds clearly and doesn't pull any punches, calling a spade a spade and you guys freak out.
West's comments were not controversial, despite the question being so.
As for the Arabs in office or Islamics in office...they represent those who voted them into office. If they vote according to the MAJORITY of contingents who sent them there, they are doing their job. Voting only for/from their own personal beliefs/conviction would be a miscarriage of our governmental process, as it is for all Congressmen & Senators & Presidents who do so.
Are the convictions & goals of his constituents in direct conflict with the US Constitution, laws, and economic process? The are if they are based on Islamic law. As such, they should be opposed directly & fervently.
Yikes! The overreaction by some to West's statements has me shaking my head as a moderate/left-leaning Republican. Tolerance devoid of discernment is utter foolishness. If West and others don't stay vigilant against the Trojan Horse invasion of America by radical Jihadists dressed as/supported by moderate Muslims, then get ready for suicide bomb blasts in malls and separate hard-core Islamic communities making a mockery of the American 'melting pot' experience. Liberals mock certain 'fears' that happen to be valid and real and should be openly and honestly discussed, not supressed due to hyper-PC sensitivities ...the truth is we should be very afraid of (or at least seriously on guard against) people sworn to destroy our democracy and our Judeo-Christian culture (hey, if we like hospitals, charity, justice, equality and the Golden Rule we've got to credit to where they came from). Let's let our watchdogs be watchdogs and not insist that everyone act like lick-your-face lap dogs - there's good reason to love and 'tolerate' both.
America has been a successful experiment in the heterogenious mixture of races and religions (i.e. 'melting pot') because immigrants LOVE and RESPECT the predominant and long-standing Judeo-Christian culture of tolerance, compassionsubmit themselves to the predominant language and culture
Read an EFFING KORAN,and Try telling me "An UnBeliever" has a ghost of a chance. It clearly instructs those .."OF THE BOOK" to Lie to all others ,if and when needed. Look at many Other countries where other Faiths USED to exist, and TRY to Find them. B'HAI ,Zoroastrians and Jews in Iran? RIIGHT! Copts in Egypt? BIG Future There. Any other Faith in Saudi Arabia?? HHMMM. How many Christians left in Iraq?? Fewer Each DAY,or am I Lyin' ? How about Sudan? Ask The Hindus if Muslims make Good Neighbors. Care to Guess?? Being Agnostic, My LifeSpan would be measured in minutes, under a Caliphate. So please,all you Good-Feelers out there, READ A BOOK, (THE BIG K) THEN START YOUR Debate HONESTLY, not some of the Relativistic Crap I see on this Thread. If 1% of Muslims are Fundamentalists and Islam is 3/5ths of the world population, use a calculator, and shudder some,won't YOU?? You are"HARAM" TO THEM, DOOFUS!! (Look it up,Exercise is good for you)
"If 1% of Muslims are Fundamentalists and Islam is 3/5ths of the world population, use a calculator, and shudder some,won't YOU??"
Uh, Yeah! I shudder at the thought of you with a calculator...3/5ths, you mean Islam is 60% of the world's population? Captain Freedom, meet statistical reality, I doubt you've met...cheers!

Religion Members Percentage
Christianity
2.1 billion
33.0%
Islam
1.5 billion
21
Hinduism
900 million
14
Buddhism
376 million
6
Sikhism
23 million
0.36
Judaism
14 million
0.22
Bahaism
7 million
0.1
Confucianism
6.3 million
0.1
Jainism
4.2 million
0.1
Shintoism
4 million
0.0
Read more: Top Ten Organized Religions of the World — Infoplease.com http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0904108.html#ixzz1CrXLtZm9
We gotta watch those Christians, They're EVERYWHERE!!!!
I feel better now. If 1% of Muslims were fundamentalists that would be only 15 million. Whew! If only 1% of them were willing to strap on a suicide vest that would be only 150,000. If only 1% of them were successful that would be only 1,500.
One percent of 1.5 billion is 1.5 million. So that would be a lot of radical people running around. More than one army could take on if all were in one place, even worse if they are spread all over the world.
West's words were not that inflamatory. He speaks his mind. Refreshing nowadays.
Miller nation: You say: Remind me again why Mr. West was booted out of the army?
Allen West was NOT booted out of the Army. Here is his history: http://allenwestforcongress.com/about He was honorably discharged as a Lt. Colonal and even went back into Afghanistan to train the Afghan Army. Someone that was supposedly booted out of the Army sure made good of himself by being a school teacher and being elected to Congress of the United States. Where do you people get such nonsense?
Read an "EFFING KORAN"
Is that an anagram for Erin Moran who played Richie's sister on "happy Days"?
BTW-Can I sponsor you for "National Brotherhood Week"? I mean, you've read the whole EFFING KORAN fer Chrissakes!!! Oy friggin Vey!!!
Where does he say anything bad about Islam? He has avoided attacking the religion in his responses despite being provoked. I don't think I agree with Rep. West on a host of issues but I don't see the criticism against him here. Sorry.
West uses religion differences to bait, infuriate, and separate people. His rhetoric is pretty lightweight, but it's similar to demagogues like Farrakhan or numerous Tea Party blowhards. It's funny how people get so up in arms about these stupid race and creed topics whenever a self-absorbed, career-minded, Narcissistic politician baits them. Don't you get it? These guys sit back and laugh at how easy it is to get attention and make a big living in the spotlight without making any contribution to the public. Hilarious! Like carnies hustling fools into the show...
Bottom line: Christians hate Muslims and Muslims hate Christians. Different books, same ol' human hatred. It is what it is. Welcome to Hell.
McMahon, what a crock of crap - don't categorize people as you have in your post. But you will see a third world war based on religious grounds, and it will be because of the radical muslims, those uneducated folks who interpret a document any way they desire.