Muslim Senate Candidate Confronts Question on Religious Loyalty

It's a simple question. No, your friend's got the mic. Would you answer your-- I-I'm asking you a simple question. You give me your name, I'll answer the question.

Okay, Tommy. Hi, Tommy. How are you? I'm great.

Are you? Do you know what the Constitution of the United States is?

I have one simple question. Will you disavow the Muslim Brotherhood?

Sure. Yeah, absolutely. But I wanna, I wanna ask you the question that you're asking. Why are you asking the question?

Well, because they're a terrorist group.

Okay. No, no, but what are you implying?

Do, do you assume that I wouldn't? Yes. Why not?

Because I have not heard you disavow them yet.

Have you disavowed them? I haven't heard you disavow them yet.

I disavow them. Do you? Great. But here's the thing about it.

You're asking the question because implicitly you assume that I'll have dual loyalties, right?

You assume that somehow I wouldn't disavow, or that I'll have some higher order allegiance than to the Constitution.

Correct? Tommy, is that what you imply? Yes.

Why would you think that about me? Because I have not heard you disavow them.

No, no, no, no. Why would you actually think that about me?

Because I have not heard you disavow them.

But I just did, but why would you actually think that?

Why would you-- Why-- Have you asked everybody in your life if they disavow them?

I have not. So why are you asking me? Because I have not heard you disavow them yet.

No, no, no. Answer the question, Tommy. Everybody knows the answer to it.

Answer the question. All right. So let me just tell you. Let me just tell you.

I'm gonna swear an oath to the Constitution of the United States, and that Constitution guarantees us all the right to practice whatever faith we want or no, no faith at all.

Yeah. And now, you assume, you assume, Tommy, that because I am Muslim, that somehow I would have some allegiance to something that is not our Constitution.

That's your assumption. That's implicit in the question.

Thank you. And what's interesting to me is that this is not the first time people have asked those kinds of questions, because do you know who John F. Kennedy is?

Yeah. Do you know who that is, Tommy? I do.

All right. Uh, do you know what he was asked as the first possible Catholic president of the United States? What did they ask him?

You don't remember? You should read his story.

Tommy, when he ran for president, he was asked whether or not he was going to have allegiance to the Pope at the Vatican because, of course, he's Catholic.

And his answer, famously, was that he was not running to be a Catholic president, he was running to be president and happened to be Catholic.

Yeah.

I'm not running Muslim. And so, you know, it's important, I think, because Muslim. And so, you know, it's important, I think, because Muslim. And so, you know, it's important, I think, because you would ask this question in a way that suggests that somehow our Constitution shouldn't be the thing that all of us

bear allegiance to. And I'm just telling you that for me, that Constitution is the guiding light.

It guarantees me the right to pray as I choose to pray or not pray at all.

Guarantees you the right to pray as you choose to pray or not pray at all.

Now, Tommy, I'm gonna ask you about your faith.

Are you a man of faith? I am. What faith do you practice?

I am Christian. You're a Christian. Ah. Do you-- No, no, I mean, it's a, it's a good question. Look up.

Do you live by Christian doctrine? I would say so, yes.

Good. And you try as hard as you can to live by Christian doctrine, right?

Yes. Do you think I have to live by Christian doctrine?

Do you? It's up to you. It's up to me, right? Why? Why is it up to me?

Because we have free will. Right. Free will, and also in this country, what else do we have?

Separation of church and state. We have our religions.

What else do we have, Tommy? We have our religions.

No, I mean, you're asking me about my allegiance to the Constitution.

It's the Constitution, my guy. We have a Constitution, and that Constitution guarantees you the right to live by your faith and guarantees me the right to do the same.

That's right. And the reality of it is this: I'm never gonna tell you what faith you can or can't practice.

I want to protect your right to practice your faith as you choose as a Christian man.

The implication, though, is that it seems like you don't want to protect my right to practice as I choose to And I'm gonna ask you, do you disavow any attempt to read any religious doctrine into the laws of our country?

I do not. You don't disavow that? So I think it's you who needs to understand the Constitution, not me.

Yeah. That's all.