Roy Moore’s remarks last night calling Islam a “false religion” was “un-American” speech, the Alabama chapter of a Muslim civil liberties organization said Tuesday.
The Alabama chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations also extended an invitation to the former Alabama Supreme Court chief justice and U.S. Senate candidate to visit a mosque following his comments.
Moore made the statement in response to a question at the North Jefferson County Republican Club about concerns that Sharia law could be implemented in the United States.
“False religions like Islam, who teach that ‘you must worship this way,’ are completely opposite with what our First Amendment stands for,” Moore said during a the club’s meeting Monday night at Jim ‘N Nick’s BBQ in Gardendale.
Khaula Hadeed, executive director of CAIR-Alabama, released a statement Tuesday afternoon inviting Moore to visit a mosque during his Senate campaign. She cited a verse from the Quran that she said called on the religion’s followers to respond to hurtful acts with kindness.
“Statements that espouse Islamophobia and cast out fellow Alabamians, implying that they do not have the same rights under the law, are unAmerican,” said CAIR-Alabama Executive Director Khaula Hadeed in a statement. “We invite Judge Roy Moore to visit a mosque, meet with Alabamian Muslims, and learn about their Islamic faith and about the Muslim constituents he intends to serve as a representative. As a candidate for Senate, this is perhaps the best time for him to do so.”
Hadeed said Muslims in Alabama are no different than their Christian and Jewish neighbors.
“We wake up every morning wanting the same things as our fellow citizens of other faiths. We work hard, raise families, give back, and watch football (in that order),” she said. “We are not ashamed to be Muslims or follow the teachings of our faith, a right guaranteed under the constitution.”