Ben Carson stands by anti-Muslim comment amid heavy criticism

Republican White House contender Ben Carson shook off growing criticism and refused Monday to back off his weekend charge that a Muslim shouldn't be elected as U.S. president.

In an interview with Fox News, Carson said he would be open to a moderate Muslim who denounced radical Islam as a White House candidate. But he also said he stood by his original comments, saying the country cannot elect people "whose faith might interfere with carrying out the duties of the constitution."

"If you're a Christian and you're running for president and you want to make this into a theocracy, I'm not going to support you," Carson told Fox News host Sean Hannity in an interview to be broadcast later Monday. "I'm not going to advocate you being the president."

• Ben Carson says America should not have a Muslim president

The intensifying political fallout is a distraction at least as the retired neurosurgeon tries to capitalize on recent momentum in the unruly Republican presidential race. But it also highlights a sentiment among voters in both parties who agree with Carson's reluctance to elect a Muslim to the nation's highest office.

If you're a Christian and you're running for president and you want to make this into a theocracy, I'm not going to support you.- Ben Carson

Carson's campaign reported strong fundraising and more than 100,000 new Facebook friends in the 24 hours after he told NBC's Meet the Press on Sunday, "I would not advocate that we put a Muslim in charge of this nation."

His campaign manager Barry Bennett told The Associated Press on Monday: "While the left wing is huffing and puffing over it, Republican primary voters are with us at least 80-20."

"People in Iowa particularly, are like, 'Yeah! We're not going to vote for a Muslim either," Bennett said. "I don't mind the hubbub. It's not hurting us, that's for sure."

Carson, a devout Christian, is running just behind businessman Donald Trump among Republican voters in Iowa, whose caucuses next February will kick off the state-by-state nominating contests. Carson is drawing support among the large bloc of socially conservative evangelicals in the Midwestern state.

Muslim group says Carson should drop bid

The head of the nation's largest Muslim advocacy group called on Carson to drop out of the 2016 presidential contest during a Capitol Hill press conference on Monday, declaring him "unfit to lead because his views are in contradiction with the United States Constitution."

"Not long ago, some people thought that a Catholic cannot be a president, an African-American cannot be a president," said Nihad Awad, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic relations. "They were wrong then, and they are wrong now."

He cited Article 6 in the Constitution, which states, "no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States."

At least one Republican joined a chorus of Democrats condemning Carson's statement.

South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham said Sunday that the comment "shows that Dr. Carson is not ready to be commander in chief." The leading Democratic presidential candidate, Hillary Rodham Clinton, addressed the issue Monday on Twitter: "Can a Muslim be President of the United States of America? In a word: Yes. Now let's move on."

Former Republican nominee Mitt Romney also criticized Carson.

While the law is clear, the politics of Muslim culture in America are not. Fourteen years after Islamic extremists executed the deadliest terrorist attack in U.S. history, a suspicious stance resonates with some voters despite the fact that as Democratic Sen. Harry Reid put it Monday Muslims "teach in our schools, fight in our military and serve in Congress."

Gallup poll suggest many voters uncomfortable

The U.S. Muslim population is growing, according to a May survey by the Pew Research Center, which found the group represented just under one per cent of the U.S. population.

A June Gallup poll found that 54 per cent of Republicans would not vote for a well-qualified Muslim nominee from their own party; 39 per cent of independents and 27 per cent of Democrats said the same.

• Ben Carson gaining on Trump, poll suggests

Nineteen states introduced legislation in 2015 to restrict the use of foreign law in state courts, Republican-backed steps largely designed to block the influence of Sharia the legal framework that regulates many aspects of life based on the Qur'an and Islamic tradition in some Muslim countries. Nine states have already implemented such laws, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

And conservatives have consistently tried to link President Barack Obama to Islam throughout his presidency.

Republican front-runner Donald Trump declined last week to correct a voter at a campaign event who inaccurately stated that Obama is a Muslim. For Trump, the election of a Muslim president was "something that could happen. Would I be comfortable? I don't know if we have to address it right now."