Roy Moore, who is a U.S. Senate candidate for Alabama, said that a practicing Muslim should not be allowed to serve in Congress by reason of his faith. Moore, who is currently facing allegations of sexual misconduct, wrote in 2006 that newly-elected Representative Keith Ellison, a Muslim, should be prohibited from taking the oath of office because of his faith, according to Snopes.
Where can you find Moore’s opinion about Muslims serving political office?
Moore wrote in a December 2006 op-ed piece on the conservative web site WorldNetDaily. The article written by Moore was titled “Muslim Ellison Should Not Sit in Congress.” In the article, Moore compared allowing Ellison to go through with his expressed intention to be sworn in on the Quran instead of the Bible to allowing members of Congress to take their oaths on a copy of Mein Kampf:
Our Constitution states, “Each House [of Congress] shall be the judge … of the qualifications of its own members.” Enough evidence exists for Congress to question Ellison’s qualifications to be a member of Congress as well as his commitment to the Constitution in view of his apparent determination to embrace the Quran and an Islamic philosophy directly contrary to the principles of the Constitution. But common sense alone dictates that in the midst of a war with Islamic terrorists we should not place someone in a position of great power who shares their doctrine. In 1943, we would never have allowed a member of Congress to take their oath on “Mein Kampf,” or someone in the 1950s to swear allegiance to the “Communist Manifesto.” Congress has the authority and should act to prohibit Ellison from taking the congressional oath today!
When asked by an MSNBC reporter if he stands by those views, Moore replied in the affirmative:
Read my article and you’ll find out what I believe. It’s clarified very clearly in my article.
Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Arizona), refused to endorse Moore on the grounds that he had “expressed his personal belief that a practicing Muslim should not be a member of Congress because of his faith”:
When a judge expressed his personal belief that a practicing Muslim shouldn’t be a member of Congress because of his religious faith, it was wrong.
That this same judge is now my party’s nominee for the Senate from Alabama should concern us all.
Religious tests should have no place in the Senate. Standing up for people of faith, whether Muslim or Catholic, who are facing unfair prejudice should be an act of basic conscience. It should be expected of all of us, regardless of party.
Snopes noted that applying any sort of religious test for an officeholder in the United States government is a violation of Article VI of the U.S. Constitution, which reads as follow:
The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.
Aside from Leigh Corfman, three other women interviewed by The Washington Post in recent weeks say Moore pursued them when they were between the ages of 16 and 18 and he was in his early 30s, episodes they say they found flattering at the time, but troubling as they got older.
Recommended for You
What did you think of Moore’s opinion that Muslims should not hold political office? Do you agree or disagree with them? Let us know in the comments section.