Ben Carson, the Republican presidential candidate who has been fading in the polls, accused a leading Muslim-American civil rights group of having ties to terrorists on Tuesday as he laid out a new national security plan.
As part of a seven-point proposal to fight terrorism, Mr. Carson called on the State Department to investigate the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the civil rights group that has been pushing back against Islamophobia in the United States.
“The Department of State should designate the Muslim Brotherhood and other organizations that propagate or support Islamic terrorism as terrorist organizations, and fully investigate the Council on American-Islamic Relations as an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood and a supporter of terrorism,” Mr. Carson, a retired neurosurgeon, said in his plan.
The proposal comes as an anti-Muslim backlash has been growing in the United States and Europe after a new wave of terrorist attacks and the rise of the Islamic State. Donald J. Trump has called for a moratorium on Muslim immigration to the United States and Mr. Carson has previously said that a Muslim should not be able to be president.
Representatives for council, or CAIR, said this is the first time this election cycle that a candidate has accused the organization of being affiliated with terrorist groups. CAIR was investigated in the past for having ties to terrorists and the Department of Justice opted against prosecuting the group or its leaders.
CAIR maintains a section of its website dedicated to debunking claims that the group is a front for Hamas or a fund-raising arm of Hezbollah. The group condemns violence and works to improve relations between Muslims and other communities in the United States.
“This is just an example of a failing candidate grasping at straws and seeking payback for CAIR’s previous criticism of his anti-Muslim bigotry,” Ibrahim Hooper, communications director for CAIR, said of Mr. Carson’s call for an investigation.