Herman Cain Redefines the First Amendment

Jason Attermann — July 18, 2011 – 4:32 pm | Election 2012 | Republicans | Separation of Church & State Comments (1) Add a comment

On Sunday, Republican presidential hopeful Herman Cain exposed his lack of knowledge on Judaism and other religions as he explained his opposition to a mosque in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Arguing that banning the construction of a mosque is “not discriminating based upon religion,” Cain claimed that Islam is the only “traditional” religion that “is both a religion and a set of laws, Sharia law.”

According to Think Progress:

Cain explained that while the Constitution guarantees a separation of church and state, the Islamic faith ‘combines church and state. They’re using the church part of our First Amendment to infuse their morals in that community.’ Noting his constant invocation of the Constitution which guarantees the freedom of religion, Wallace asked Cain whether any American community has a right to ban a mosque. Cain replied, ‘Yes, they have the right to do that.’

Adam Serwer of The Washington Post debunked Cain’s baseless claim of religions, his conflicting support for constitutionally-protected freedoms, and his misunderstanding of Shariah law:

Islam is hardly the only religion to have its own laws - based on Cain’s arguments, Jews Catholics and Anglicans among others would also not qualify for religious protection under the First Amendment. The First Amendment protects the free exercise of religion, it does not sanction discrimination based on the religious prejudices of a given moment.

There is no one static set of precepts Muslims agree upon that Cain can refer to as ‘sharia law.’ Sharia is a set of Islamic principles whose application varies based on interpretation. Ironically, by implying otherwise, Cain is insisting that the most draconian interpretations of sharia are the ‘real’ ones, Cain is supporting the religious arguments of Islamic extremists. Cain argues that it’s not ‘discriminating against based upon religion’ for a community to ban a mosque, which is absurd on its face. Cain is saying it’s not discrimination to discriminate.

Click here to read the article from Think Progress.

Click here to read Serwer’s coverage in The Washington Post.

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