If Herman Cain becomes President, he will only consider appointing Muslims to federal positions if he can be extra-sure that they will uphold the Constitution and not sneak Sharia law into the government.
In an interview with Fox News’ Neil Cavuto on Monday, Cain sought to clarify remarks he made over the weekend to a Think Progress reporter, when he said that he would not appoint any Muslims to his cabinet or federal judgeships were he President. In defending that statement, Cain said that his concern is not with Muslims per se, but with Sharia law, and that he would need a “commitment” from prospective Muslim appointees that they would remain loyal to the Constitution before he would consider giving them a job.
“Many of the Muslims, they are not totally dedicated to this country, they are not dedicated to our Constitution,” Cain said. “Many of them are trying to force Sharia law on the people of this country.”
“And so yes, I did say it,” Cain went on, referring to his statement that he would appoint no Muslims, “and that is because I don’t have time to be watching someone on my administration if they are not totally committed to the Declaration and the Constitution of the United States and the laws of this country.”
That at first seemed to confirm his comments from over the weekend. But Cavuto then sought further clarification, asking Cain if he would consider someone who told him, “look, I’m Muslim, but I would honor all of the above, and I would not be necessarily for Sharia law.”
“In that case, I would certainly consider that individual,” Cain responded.
“But see, my motivation for saying ‘no I wouldn’t’ was based upon the fact that they are trying to push Sharia law off on this country, and I’m simply not going to try and be politically correct in order to help facilitate that.”
Cain also said that he has been looking at potential appointees already, and that he simply didn’t currently know of any Muslims who he would considering appointing.
Cain’s Communications Director Ellen L. Carmichael also said that his remarks on Saturday concerned Sharia law, and were not meant against all Muslims.
“He would judge each and every individual on their merits and their commitment to upholding the constitution,” Carmichael told TPM.
“He’s not going to discriminate based on religion, or based on race, or based on any of those things,” she added.
She also said that Cain may have just gotten ahead of himself on Saturday and not stated his case as clearly as he could have.
“It may not have been as carefully worded as he wishes it would have been,” she said.
Watch the interview with Cavuto below:
