U.S. Muslim Groups Say Gov. Bobby Jindal’s Call To Ban Radical Islamists From Entering America Is “Fearmongering”

From the International Business Times:

Muslim American groups are rejecting Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal’s suggestion that people espousing radical Islamic views be barred from entering the United States, calling it a move to promote himself for the presidential campaign. 

The remarks are only the most recent in a series of misguided attempts to burnish Jindal’s 2016 credentials at the expense of the Muslim community, activists said. 

“What he is doing is fearmongering,” said Haris Tarin, the director of the Washington office of the Muslim Public Affairs Council. 

“This is another one of those issues where he is using fear to garner votes and the latest in a line of remarks he has made over the past few months to try to seem relevant for the 2016 elections.”  

While speaking to a conservative think tank on Monday, Jindal made the suggestion that the government should not permit entry to the U.S. to anyone who would “use the freedoms we give them to undermine the freedoms we grant to everyone. 

So in other words we shouldn’t tolerate those who want to come and try to impose some variant of, some version of Shariah law,” he said. 

Jindal’s office has not yet responded to a request for further comment on the proposal. Jindal is attempting to exploit a “common fear of Muslims” in the U.S. with an eye toward the elections, said Corey Saylor of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. 

“Do we want to protect our country from people who want to do us harm? Absolutely. But you look at criminal activity, not thought,” he said. 

“It’s an unfortunate reality that some politicians will pick on minorities rather than offer solutions to the economic and real national security issues our country faces.”