By Stephen D. Foster, Jr. / 07.29.2016
This is outrageous and someone needs to put this right-wing nut job in her place.
Rather than applaud Khizr Khan for standing up to hate and bigotry as he celebrated the Constitution and America, right-wing radio host Sandy Rios did something even worse than Ann Coulter in response.
“You know what this convention really needed? An angry Muslim with a thick accent like Fareed Zacaria,” Coulter wrote on Twitter. Of course, even conservatives slammed Coulter for her shameful words.
But Rios, who works for the American Family Association hate organization, went further than Coulter by questioning Khan’s loyalty to America and even had the gall to question the loyalty of his son, who died for this country to save the American soldiers under his command in Iraq.
“If you are so concerned, Mr. Khan, if you’re an American first, then distinguish yourself and condemn Islamists, condemn the Muslim Brotherhood, then we will listen to you, and stop waving the Constitution,” Rios said before claiming that Muslims cannot truly practice Islam and live under the Constitution and accusing Khan of lying.
“As far as I can tell, Islam, truly, supporters of Islam and the Quran, cannot embrace the Constitution. Now, if you have a different view, then explain that to us and then maybe we can be persuaded, but don’t shame America for having genuine and rightful concerns about Muslims in our midst when we have no idea who they are or what they really believe, and we’re not even sure about you, sir, because we know about taqiyya, which is the practice of lying to the infidel in order to advance the Muslim cause.”
First of all, this man lost his son in Iraq so it’s safe to say he condemns terrorists. What Rios is employing is the Trump and Republican claim that simply saying the words “radical Islam” will magically make ISIS disappear and they are claiming that anyone who doesn’t say it isn’t a real patriot.
Donald Trump made that same claim when he questioned President Obama’s loyalty to America back in June in the wake of the Orlando mass shooting.
“Look, we’re led by a man that either is not tough, not smart, or he’s got something else in mind,” Trump told Fox News. “There’s something going on. It’s inconceivable. There’s something going on. He doesn’t get it or he gets it better than anybody understands — it’s one or the other and either one is unacceptable.”
But Rios didn’t stop there. She also questioned the loyalty of Khan’s son Humayun, who proudly wore the uniform and flag of this country and posthumously received the Purple Heart and Bronze Star for his heroic actions on the day he was killed.
“So I’m sorry, we’ll not be shamed. I’m sorry for the loss of their son and I hope he is a loyal American. But I think a loyal American Muslim would be more like Zuhdi Jasser, who is very clear about where he stands, who was very patriotic and loyal and totally distances himself from Islamism, so if that’s the case for this gentleman, then he should’ve said that on the platform rather than shaming us for having concerns about Muslim immigration.”
https://soundcloud.com/rightwingwatch/rios-khizr-khan
I would say that this is a new low for conservatives but they have already hit rock bottom. The fact is that members of ISIS WANT us to refer to them as followers of Islam because they want legitimacy. But they are not real followers of Islam. They have simply co-opted the religion in an effort to justify their violent cause and they do not represent the over one billion peaceful Muslims in the world. Basically, Rios expects every Muslim to take a loyalty oath, which is exactly what Donald Trump wants to do to any Muslim seeking refuge within our shores.
This is pure hate and bigotry and it has no place in our society. If anyone is violating the Constitution it is the likes of Rios and Trump who think that only Christianity is protected by it. But the Constitution protects freedom of religion. That means all religions, even Islam.
And Rios should be removed from the airwaves for even suggesting that Khan and his son are not loyal to this country. He and his son have sacrificed more for this country than she ever has or ever will.