Tennessee State Representative Rick Womick, a Republican, has made no secret of his anti-Muslim views. A New York Times article in July described Womick on the statehouse floor, warning his constituents that Islamic law was the most urgent threat to their way of life.
But in an interview with the ThinkProgress website, Womick went even further. Womick said, “I don’t trust one Muslim in our military” and “if they truly are a devout Muslims, and follow the Qoran and the Sunnah, then I feel threatened because they’re commanded to kill me.”
When asked if Muslims should be forced out of the military, Womick responded “Absolutely, yeah.”
He said, “Personally, I don’t trust one Muslim in our military because they’re commanded to lie to us through the term called taqiyya.”
The Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) responded by calling on the Tennessee legislature to rebuke Womick.
“The Tennessee General Assembly must formally rebuke Representative Womick for defaming all members of the military –- including the thousands of Muslims who proudly serve our nation — and for sending a message of hate to the hundreds of thousands of Muslims serving alongside our troops in other nations,” said CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper.
Earlier this year, CAIR called on state and national GOP leaders to repudiate a lengthy rhetorical attack on Islam and the Qoran by Womick.
During a hearing of the Tennessee House Judiciary Committee, Womick claimed the proposed Material Support to Designated Entities Act was “not about religion,” then launched into a lengthy attack on Islam and the Qoran, ultimately comparing the faith to Nazism and white supremacy.
Womick said, “With Islam there is no freedom of religion allowed within or outside of Islam. There is no freedom of speech or thought, no freedom of artistic expression, no freedom of the press, no equality of peoples, because non-Muslims are never equal to Muslims. There is one set of laws for Muslim men and different laws for women and non-Muslims. Under Islam, women are to be beaten.…”
