Mosque Monitors

   Here's a reminder for Paul Nehlen, a Wisconsin Republican and opponent for the Congressional seat now held by House Speaker Paul Ryan.
   "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." -- United States Constitution, First Amendment.
   "Why do we have Muslims in the country?" Nehlen said Monday during a radio interview with a Chicago station, implying that they should all be deported. But when challenged by the radio interviewer, Nehlen said "We should have a discussion about it, that's for sure."
   Nehlen further claimed that Muslims who follow Sharia law are in "direct conflict" with the Constitution, and police should monitor all mosques in America. In addition, he endorsed a proposal by another Republican leader, Newt Gingrich, that there should be a religious test on all Muslims in America.
   Here's another reminder, for those who have not read the Constitution, or choose to ignore it:
   "No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification for any office or public trust under the United States." 
   That's in Article VI in the main body of the Constitution.
    So while the First Amendment guarantees Freedom of Religion, the Constitution itself guarantees freedom from religion.
   And like other references to various freedoms mentioned in the founding documents of America, it's important to remember that these are not rights granted by government; they are rights we already have, and government is prohibited from interfering with these rights.
   To call for restrictions on these rights displays not only a violation of long-held American values, but a profound ignorance of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights and American history.
   In fact, Islam is the third-largest religion in America, after Christianity and Judaism. All three can be grouped together as Middle Eastern desert religions, since that where they all began.
   Moreover, Islam is not new to America. It was brought here with the arrival of African slaves. There are now about 3.3 million Muslims living in America, about 1 percent of the total population. Worldwide, some 1.6 billion people follow the principles of Islam, which makes it the second largest religion in the world.
   Finally, to condemn all members of a group because of the activities of a few is not only un-American, it is immoral and in many ways illegal. There are, of course, extremists in every group, and Islam is no exception. For that matter, neither is Christianity. But the terrorist activities of the radical few violates a major, basic principle of both. Like Christianity and Judaism, Islam preaches peace and brotherhood.
   And that, too, is a founding principle of America. Unfortunately, that principle is more honored in the breach than in the observance.