The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today condemned the terror attack in France that killed at least 80 people, and also condemned a suggestion by former House Speaker Newt Gingrich who responded to the attack by calling for Inquisition-style religious “testing” and possible deportation of “every person here who is of a Muslim background.”
In a statement, CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad said:
“We condemn this bloody massacre as we have condemned previous ISIS or ISIS-inspired atrocities and the deviant ideology that produces such senseless and cowardly violence. We are praying for the people of Nice, the victims of another outrageous attack on humanity.
“As we mourn the victims and determine how best to protect people of all faiths and backgrounds from such brutal attacks, let us not help the recruiting efforts of ISIS and other terror groups by blaming all Muslims for the murders in France.
“When former House Speaker Newt Gingrich suggests that American Muslims be subjected to an Inquisition-style religious test and then expelled from their homes and nation, he plays into the hands of terror recruiters and betrays the American values he purports to uphold.”
CAIR recently called for unity against ISIS following a series of deadly attacks apparently carried out or inspired by that terror group in Turkey, Iraq, Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia.
