Ed Martin, who ran for Missouri attorney general four years ago and now is the chief spokesman and ally to conservative icon Phyllis Schlafly, said at a Tea Party rally in the St. Louis area Sunday:
“You’re not racist if you don’t like Mexicans. They’re from a nation. If you don’t think Muslims are vetted enough, because they blow things up, that’s not racist.”
Martin told the Post-Dispatch in a written statement that his comments regarding Mexicans were aimed only at illegal immigrants.
Regarding his comments on Muslims, he said: “My point is that it is not racist to make clear that some Muslims should not be coming to America. They are not a race but a religion and there are white, black and brown Muslims and we need to make sure that the ones who wish us ill are not allowed to enter America.”
Schlafly and Martin — who also is a former Missouri state Republican Party chairman — have been on the same side of a legal fight against board members of Schlafly’s conservative activist organization Eagle Forum, over issues that have included Schlafly’s support of GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump, who is opposed by some board members.
Trump has in the past called for stricter policies toward Mexican and Muslim immigration, though his policy stances recently have been in flux. He has scheduled a speech on the issue Wednesday.
Ghazala Hayat, chair of public relations for the Islamic Foundation of Greater St. Louis, called Martin’s comments “bigotry.”
“Are there Muslims who are doing wrong things and manipulating the faith? Yes. But most ... aren’t radicals or terrorists,” she said, citing estimates that “less than .01 percent” of practicing Muslims are radicalized.
“I’m all for vetting every person entering the country. More than anybody, Muslims living here in America, we don’t want” terrorist incidents involving Muslims, Hayat said.
“It’s unfortunate that the year of this election has brought out not the best” among people, she added. “People around the world look at America as a beacon of Democracy, and these kinds of comments don’t speak very well to that.”