Ben Carson Says President Must Be Willing to Put Constitution Before Religious Beliefs

2016 presidential hopeful Ben Carson has continued to argue his stance on a Muslim U.S. president, saying in a recent interview that a Muslim must separate themselves from Shariah law in order to serve as Commander-in-Chief.

Carson received criticism for comments he made last week and on his Facebook page, in which he argued that he believes a Muslim could only become president if they rescinded some tenants of Islam, including Shariah law.

In an interview with ABC News' "This Week," Carson followed up on those claims, saying that any perso who takes the highest political office in the U.S. must be willing to put their religious beliefs behind an obedience to the U.S. Constitution.

"I said anybody, doesn't matter what their religious background, if they accept American values and principles and are willing to subjugate their religious beliefs to our Constitution, I have no problem with them," Carson said on the media program.

"What we should be talking about is Islam, and the tenets of Islam, and where do they come from?" Carson said. "They come from Shariah. They come from the Quran. They come from, you know, the life works and examples of Muhammad [hadith]. They come from the fatwas, which is the writings of scholars."

"You know, and if you go back and you look at — what I would like for somebody to show me is an improved Islamic text that opposes Shariah. Let me see — if you can show me that, I will begin to alter my thinking on this," the retired neurosurgeon added.