Muslim Advocacy Group CAIR Slams Trump Over U.S. Mosque Comments

A Muslim advocacy group has spoken out against recent comments made by 2016 presidential hopeful Donald Trump regarding the possible closing of mosques in the U.S.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations [CAIR] made a statement this week saying Trump went too far in a recent Fox Business interview in which he suggested that the closing of a mosque in the U.S. could be considered if it had a connection to the Islamic State terror group.

"Donald Trump's apparent willingness to close down American mosques that he deems 'extreme' is totally incompatible with the Constitution and our nation's cherished principle of religious freedom," CAIR Government Affairs Department Manager Robert McCaw said in a statement this week.

"The government should not be in the business of deciding what is acceptable free speech or religious belief. Donald Trump's off-the-cuff remarks are both un-American, and un-presidential," McCaw added.

When asked in a recent Fox Business interview if he would consider closing U.S. mosques that have connections to terrorist groups, Trump said he wasn't sure but that it could be looked into further. 

"Well I don't know. I mean, I haven't heard about the closing of the mosque. It depends, if the mosque is, you know, loaded for bear, I don't know. You're going to have to certainly look at it," the real estate mogul said, adding: "But I can tell you one thing, if somebody goes over and they want to fight for ISIS, they wouldn't be coming back."