DEARBORN— Local activists slammed Republican presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson for saying he would be opposed to a Muslim becoming president of the United States. 

The retired neurosurgeon responded to a question on NBC’s “Meet the Press”, saying, “I would not advocate that we put a Muslim in charge of this nation. I absolutely would not agree with that.” 

When asked if a president’s faith matters, Carson said it does matter if the faith is “inconsistent with the values and principles of America.” 

Islam, according to Carson, is not consistent with the U.S. Constitution.

“I would not advocate that we put a Muslim in charge of this nation,” he said.

Carson, a Detroit native and top-tier GOP contender, currently is second, behind Donald Trump, in the 2016 Republican primary polls.

Since making his comments, Carson has been under relentless criticism from both Republican and Democratic voters, local activists and government officials.

Rashida Tlaib, manager of the Take on Hate campaign, which seeks to combat the growing discrimination and persistent misconception of Arab and Muslim Americans, said she is disappointed by Carson’s statement. The former democratic state representative, who is the first Muslim American woman to serve in the Michigan legislature, and only the second Muslim woman in history to be elected to any state legislature in America, said she attended the same high school and grew up in the same neighborhood as Carson.

“His statement should be enough to disqualify him as a candidate for president of the United States,” Tlaib said. “The fact that an African American Detroit native, who grew up with so many challenges, which most likely included racism, could dehumanize a whole faith is telling of how ill our society is.”

The two Muslim congressmen, Reps. André Carson (D-Indiana) and Keith Ellison (D-Minnesota), who grew up in Detroit, also criticized Ben Carson for his comments.

In a statement, Ellison said, “every American should be disturbed that these national figures are engaging in and tolerating blatant acts of religious bigotry.”

In an NPR interview, André Carson said, “for any candidate to suggest that someone of any faith is unfit for public office, to me, is simply asinine.”

Presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) expressed disappointment at Carson’s remarks in a statement released Sunday.

“It took us too long to overcome the prejudice against electing a Catholic or an African American president,” Sanders said. “People should be elected to office based on their ideas, not their religion or the color of their skin.”

Sanders’ remarks referenced both President Obama and former President Kennedy, who was the first Catholic to be elected. During the 1960 campaign, anti-Catholic attitudes were still prevalent in some parts of the country and some segments of the electorate believed Kennedy would be beholden to the pope, rather than follow the Constitution. In at least one campaign speech, Kennedy made assurances that that would not be the case.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina), a fellow contender, criticized Carson’s comments in a Fox News interview. 

“This shows that Dr. Carson is not ready to be commander-in-chief,” Graham said. “Mr. Carson may be a good doctor, but he is not ready to lead a great nation.”

He added that Carson should apologize to the approximately 3,500 American Muslims who serve in the U.S. armed forces.

Defending his position, Carson wrote in a Facebook post a day after his remarks, “I meant exactly what I said. I could never support a candidate for President of the United States that was Muslim and had not renounced the central tenant of Islam: Sharia Law.”

He said that under Islamic law, homosexuals must be killed, women must be subservient and apostates must be killed.

He acknowledged that many Muslims do not adhere to these beliefs, but cannot advocate any Muslim candidate for president unless they denounce what he believes to be Islam’s core tenets.

Ali Dourra, a Muslim and prospective medical student, said he used to revere Carson’s medical contributions and achievements. He said he would speak greatly of Dr. Carson, about how he escaped the ghetto and his accomplishments as a surgeon— until he heard his comments.

“You can’t just go on the podium and denounce three million people,” he said.

Dourra added that “it’s really shameful, especially for a minority like himself to say that about another minority group.”

Detroit pastor and local civil rights activist W.J. Rideout said he is disappointed by Carson’s remarks. 

“When people don’t know each other, don’t learn about each other, this is what we get,” Rideout said.

He added that as another African American, he asks the candidate to focus on more important issues and to “run [his] race and be quiet.” Rideout said he would never vote for a president who attacks individuals because of their religious preferences.

Rasha Almulaiki, a Yemeni American activist and a co-founder of the feminist group The Z Collective, called Carson’s remarks ignorant.

“It’s reactionary; the most ignorant has become the most vocal,” Almulaiki said, adding that expressing such bigoted comments has become a form of entertainment that wins the candidates increased name recognition and votes from a “very vocal minority.” 

She asserted that Republican officials and candidates want to do away with political correctness and espouse boldness instead. 

Last November, Alabama passed a law prohibiting the state’s courts from considering “foreign law” when deciding cases. The provision, like a series of similar laws proposed in other states, appears to have been motivated by a fear that Muslims could somehow deprive local citizens of their rights by forcing courts to apply Sharia law.

Anti-Muslim remarks and attitudes are not limited to government officials. The Arab American Institute reports that more Americans echo their elected officials’ doubt that an Arab or Muslim could perform their duties in an appointed government position. According to the report, favorable attitudes towards Muslims have declined from 35 percent in 2010 to 27 percent in 2014 and 48 percent of Muslim Americans have personally experienced discrimination based on their religion.

A June Gallup poll found that 60 percent of the American public disagree with Carson’s sentiments, saying they would vote for a well-qualified candidate who happens to be Muslim.

The FBI stated that in 2013 1,163 hate crimes were motivated by religious bias and 14 percent were against Muslims.

Reaffirming his position, Carson expanded on his view in an interview with “The Hill” that a Muslim should not be elected president. 

“I do not believe Sharia is consistent with the Constitution of this country,” Carson said. “Muslims feel that their religion is very much a part of your public life and what you do as a public official, and that’s inconsistent with our principles and our Constitution.”

Article Six of the Constitution forbids a religious test as a requirement for holding a governmental position.

Carson told The Hill that the question of a Muslim president is largely “irrelevant”, because no Muslims are running in 2016. He said the question “may well have been gotcha journalism” meant to trip the candidates up.

However, he acknowledged the question “served a useful purpose by providing the opportunity to talk about what Sharia is and what their goals are.”

After the September 11 attacks, many Americans berated Muslims, blaming their ideals for the tragedy. A few days after the attacks, President Bush stood up against the misinformed bigotry in a speech, saying “America counts millions of Muslims amongst our citizens and Muslims make an incredibly valuable contribution to our country.

“Muslims are doctors, lawyers and law professors, members of the military, entrepreneurs, shopkeepers, moms and dads,” Bush continued. “And they need to be treated with respect. In our anger and emotion, our fellow Americans must treat each other with respect.”