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CAIR Bulletin – August 6, 2007
Muslims welcome GOP rejection
of threat to attack Mecca
WASHINGTON, D.C., August 6, 2007 - The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today welcomed remarks by several Republican presidential candidates repudiating threats made by fellow White House hopeful Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-CO) to attack Islamic holy sites.
The Washington-based Islamic civil rights and advocacy group also called on Tancredo to retract and apologize for remarks he made last week advocating threats to bomb the holy cities of Mecca and Medina as part of his proposed anti-terror policy.
In a statement issued today, CAIR said:
"The Republican candidates and the Department of State are correct in rejecting threatened attacks on Islamic holy sites as a deterrent to terrorists.
"Representative Tancredo's extreme and counterproductive proposal to threaten Mecca and Medina fails any reasonable test for strategic viability. It only serves to further damage our nation's interests and image in the Muslim world and will inevitably be used as rhetorical fodder by extremists.
"America's relationship with Islam and Muslims worldwide will be a central issue for the administration of our next president, whoever that may be.
"We call on Representative Tancredo to retract his inflammatory statements and to apologize for fanning the flames of international mistrust and hostility. We also urge every other presidential candidate to state how her or his leadership would win back the international support, particularly in the Islamic world, that America has lost in recent years."
During a Republican presidential debate in Iowa over the weekend, former Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson said, "I sincerely believe that bombing religious artifacts and religious holy sites would do nothing but unify 1 billion Muslims against us."
After the debate, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee said the idea is "appalling." Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA) also said, "I wouldn't follow that."
Earlier in the week, Tom Casey, a deputy spokesperson for the State Department, said: "It is absolutely outrageous and reprehensible for anyone to suggest attacks on holy sites, whether they are Muslim, Christian, Jewish or those of any other religion." Casey called Tancredo's proposal "absolutely crazy."
CNN - August 5, 2007
Tancredo defends threat to bomb Muslim holy sites
WASHINGTON (CNN) — Colorado Rep. Tom Tancredo continued to defend his comments that threatening to bomb Muslim holy sites would be the right way to “deter any kind of aggression” from terrorists and said that anyone who wouldn’t do the same “isn’t fit to be president” on Sunday morning.
“I’m telling you right now that anybody that would suggest that we should take anything like this off the table in order to deter that kind of event in the United States isn’t fit to be president of the United States,” the GOP presidential candidate said.
During a campaign stop in Iowa on Tuesday, Tancredo said that “an attack on this homeland of that nature would be followed by an attack on the holy sites in Mecca and Medina.” Tom Casey, a deputy spokesman for the State Department, told CNN that Tancredo’s comments were “reprehensible” and “absolutely crazy.” But Tancredo said that when the State Department complains about things he says, he feels more confident.
“Yes, the State Department. Boy, when they start complaining about things I say, I feel a lot better about the things I say, I’ll tell you right now,” Tancredo said, to laughter from the audience.
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2007/08/05/tancredo-defends-threat-to-bomb-muslim-holy-sites/
Associated Press – August 2, 2007
Republican candidate again threatens
to bomb Mecca & Medina
WASHINGTON - Republican presidential hopeful Tom Tancredo says the best way he can think of to deter a nuclear terrorist attack on the U.S. is to threaten to retaliate by bombing Islamic holy sites.
The Colorado congressman on Tuesday told about 30 people at a town hall meeting in the state of Iowa that he believes such a terrorist attack could be imminent and that the U.S. needs to hurry up and think of a way to stop it.
"If it is up to me, we are going to explain that an attack on this homeland of that nature would be followed by an attack on the holy sites in Mecca and Medina," Tancredo said at the Family Table restaurant. "Because that's the only thing I can think of that might deter somebody from doing what they otherwise might do.". . .
Tancredo's comments were recorded and posted on the Web site iowapolitics.com.
A Washington-based Islamic civil rights and advocacy group responded in anger Thursday, calling Tancredo's statement "unworthy of anyone seeking public office in the United States."
"Perhaps it's evidence of a long-shot candidate grasping at straws and trying to create some kind of a controversy that might appeal to a niche audience of anti-Muslim bigots," said Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations. . .
This is not the first time Tancredo has suggested taking extreme action against Mecca and Medina.
In 2005, he drew international criticism after he told a radio talk show host that "you could take out" Islamic holy sites if terrorists ever launched a nuclear attack against the United States.
http://www.pr-inside.com/republican-candidate-advocates-threat-to-r193291.htm
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