On NPR this morning there was a piece about Tennessee's Republican Governor, Bill Haslam, who hired a Muslim woman to his staff and has received criticism from some of his constituents for doing so, and they are pointing to the hiring as evidence of the "infiltration" of Islam in government.
A resolution is being circulated criticizing the Governor "and Islam" because, says Dentist Lee Douglas:
"By stopping this now, we're going to save ourselves a lot of difficulty in the future,"
and this
"I don't want anybody to persecute any religion including Islam, but we have a duty as Americans to understand that they intend to take us over and compel us to become Islamic,"
In reply, Rebin Omer, who is Islam, spoke in a language the Islamophobes don't understand:
"We haven't seen anything like that from our upbringing or anything, so it's kind of surprising, but the First Amendment gives you the right to worship any religion you want,"
Rep. Diane Black:
"I understand the devastation that Shariah law could mean here in our country, and I'm a sponsor of a bill that will once again say that the United States Constitution is our law and that it is the supreme law,"
A real shame.