Press Room

Must Read News

Criticisms of Congressman's Comments Keep Coming

Detroit Free Press
Posted on Thursday July 21, 2005

Comments by Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo that suggested the United States could “take out” Islamic holy sites if Muslim attackers targeted America in a nuclear strike are “careless” and could be used to recruit terrorists, U.S. Rep. John Dingell of Michigan said Thursday.

Dingell, a Democrat whose Detroit-area district includes thousands of Arabs and Muslims, called on Republicans in Congress and President Bush to join him in condemning the Colorado representative’s statement.

The Detroit area has an estimated 300,000 Arab-Americans, though not all are Muslim. About a third of the nearby city of Dearborn, Mich., where Dingell has a district office, are of Arab descent.

Tancredo maintains he was taken out of context. But rebukes have come from as far away as Indonesia to as nearby as the Democratic National Committee office in Washington.

“Mr. Tancredo’s reprehensible attack on Islam is ignorant and offensive,” Dingell said in a statement. “I only hope that his statement won’t be used on extremist Web sites as justification for a ‘holy war’ against the United States and our allies.”

Tancredo was asked on a radio talk show last week how the United States should respond if terrorists struck several of its cities with nuclear weapons.

“Well, what if you said something like—if this happens in the United States, and we determine that it is the result of extremist, fundamentalist Muslims, you know, you could take out their holy sites,” Tancredo answered.

When host Pat Campbell of WFLA-AM in Orlando, Fla., asked if he meant “bombing Mecca,” the congressman responded: “Yeah.”

Mecca and Medina, in Saudi Arabia, are Islam’s holiest cities. All able-bodied Muslims are required to make a pilgrimage there at least once in their lives. Mecca is the birthplace of Islam’s prophet Muhammad and home to the Kaaba, Islam’s most sacred site, which Muslims around the world face when they perform daily prayers.

“To even suggest an attack on Mecca shows Congressman Tancredo has no understanding of the true nature of Islam and the peaceful Muslims living in the Arab world,” Dingell said.

A spokesman for the House Majority Leader’s office declined to respond to Dingell.

A White House spokesman said Bush stands by comments made earlier this week by U.S. State Department spokesman Adam Ereli, who called Tancredo’s statement “insulting and offensive.”

Tancredo’s office said Tancredo has nothing to apologize for because his comments have been misunderstood. He has said he did not mean he wanted to bomb Mecca or Medina.

His response to criticism Thursday was a dig at Dingell, who has served almost 50 years in the U.S. House.

“Dingell was in Congress when Mecca was built,” Tancredo said in a statement. “He has a large Muslim constituency in his district to pander to. I understand why he’d attack me.”

Dingell’s spokesman declined to reply to Tancredo.