Muslims have no respect for human life. At least that’s what Republican front runner Donald Trump thinks, and he said as much during a rally held in Mount Pleasant, S.C., on the U.S.S. Yorktown December 7, and he says a poll from a “highly respected” organization that proves his point.
Trump’s assertion came amid a number of highly questionable statements, some of which notable pundits have said emulate Adolf Hitler. Although Trump has never been one to hold his tongue, he has been getting much bolder with his statements and assertions than the rest of the GOP candidates have been.
Muslims Want Sharia Law?
The Center for Security Policy, the organization that conducted the poll, asked 600 self-declared Muslims a variety of questions on their life, their faith, how they practice it, and how they believe it corresponds to American values.
Trump, citing the poll released in July, said:
“And 51 percent agreed Muslims in America should have the choice to be governed by Sharia, you know what Sharia is, 51 percent. Sharia authorizes, this is terrible authorizes such atrocities such as murders against nonbelievers who don’t convert…”
Trump has since used these poll numbers to justify banning all Muslims from entering the United States.
This includes American citizens who happen to practice the Muslim faith. He went on to say that Muslims have no respect for human life, and that they want to hurt Americans, again referring to the poll.
This might not surprise you much, but Trump lied, folks. It’s a total and complete fabrication. Besides contradicting Trumps assertions, the poll was discredited. Don’t believe it?
Here’s the link to the poll so you can go read the results yourself.
The problem is that the July poll’s results are suspect at best, as are Frank Gaffney Jr., and the CSP itself, according to the Huffington Post. In fact, Gaffney is so Islamophobic that even the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) banned him for life.
The poll is unscientific, according to the Huffington Post. the group that conducted the poll for the CSP used the opt-in online method which, according to the American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR), is unreliable and not released to the public. There is no real way to verify who answers online questions without a webcam, which was not used, and the CSP hid that from the results.
For all the CSP knows, Trump himself could have been answering the questions, or used paid actors, like he did to inflate his crowd numbers at his presidential candidacy announcement.
The “Other” Poll About Sharia
Trump “forgot” to read a poll from May that the CSP cites as a basis for its July results, though – the poll that asked the rest of the American public some of the same questions. That poll from May completely contradicts everything Trump said, and wants his supporters believe.
The truth is that 86 percent of people, Muslims and non-Muslims alike, believe that the U.S. Constitution is supreme on U.S. soil, not Sharia. If you believe the poll Trump cited, you have to believe this one too.
Trump doesn’t care much though, since changing reality to suit his delusional state is what Trump does best. He will continue twisting his words and poll results to suit his fascist rhetoric for as long as people keep believing him.
With our American way of life at stake and Trump at the center of it all, it’s high time Americans and the media hold him accountable for his factual errors, rhetoric, and fascism more aggressively than ever before – and not just when it suits the networks’ ratings to do so.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Od9Bdfadvc&w=560&h=315]
Featured Image by DonkeyHotey via Flickr/CC by 2.0
