Gingrich: ‘Test’ all Muslims in U.S. and deport those who believe in Sharia law
Following the attack in Nice that killed at least 84 people former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has called for deporting every American with a Muslim background who believes in Sharia law.
“Western civilization is in a war. We should frankly test every person here who is of a Muslim background and if they believe in Sharia they should be deported,” Gingrich told Fox News’ Sean Hannity.
“Sharia is incompatible with western civilization. Modern Muslims who have given up Sharia - glad to have them as citizens. Perfectly happy to have them next door,” he added. Further, he said: “Anybody who goes on a website favoring ISIS or al-Qaida or other terrorist groups, that should be a felony, and they should go to jail. Any organization which hosts such a website should be engaged in a felony. It should be closed down immediately.”
Modern Muslims who have given up Sharia, glad to have them as citizens.
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich
Gingrich also said that the attack in Nice is the “fault of Western elites who lack the guts to do what is right, to do what is necessary,” and suggested that mosques in America need to be monitored.
On Friday, Gingrich said the media “grossly exaggerated” his comments.
In a Facebook chat Friday, Gingrich said the media “went into a hysteria overnight in trying to grossly exaggerate what I was saying.”
Gingrich said his comments were not “about targeting a particular religion,” but “this is about looking for certain characteristics that we have learned painfully time after time involve killing people.”
Gingrich added that “if you are a practicing Muslim and you believe deeply in your faith, but you’re also loyal to the United States and you believe in the Constitution, you should have your rights totally completely protected within the Constitution.”
Gingrich’s proposal, which made no distinction between U.S. citizens and noncitizen, would violate scores of First and Fourteenth Amendment-based Supreme Court rulings and laws that together bar discriminating on the basis of religion, favoring one religion over another by the government and restricting freedom of expression and and belief.
Specifically the First Amendment reads: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”
In addition, the Supreme Court has ruled that the government has no power to strip people of their citizenship, which would be necessary to deport anyone who is a citizen.
Apart from that, there are an estimated 3.3 million Muslims in the U.S., according to a recent Pew Research survey who, by Gingrich’s proposal, would have to take his “test.”
Nor is there any evidence suggesting a link between a “belief in Sharia” law and acts of terror in the U.S.
“Look, the first step is you have to ask them the questions,” said Gingrich. “The second step is you have to monitor what they’re doing on the internet. The third step is - let me be very clear - you have to monitor the mosques. I mean, if you’re not prepared to monitor the mosques, this whole thing is a joke.”
Gingrich had been mentioned as a potential vice-presidential running mate with Donald Trump. Gingrich’s suggestion goes beyond anything suggested even by Trump, who has called for a moratorium on Muslim migration.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations condemned the attack in Nice as well as Gingrich’s call to “test” and deport Muslims in the U.S.
“When former House Speaker Newt Gingrich suggests that American Muslims be subjected to Inquisition-style religious test and then expelled from their homes and nation, CAIR National executive director Nihad Awaid said, “he plays into the hands of terror recruiters and betrays the American values he purports to uphold.”
President Barack Obama said Friday that calls to expel Muslims who believe in Sharia law are “repugnant.”
He said the suggestion is an “affront to everything we stand for as Americans.”
The Associated Press contributed.
This story was originally published July 15, 2016 at 10:58 AM with the headline "Gingrich: ‘Test’ all Muslims in U.S. and deport those who believe in Sharia law."