Muslim Congressman: 'Our Largest Domestic Threat Comes From Racial Supremacist Groups'
(CNSNews.com) - Rep. Andre Carson (D-Ind.), one of two Muslims in Congress, says he's more concerned about white supremacists than Muslim terrorists.
"I just saw a report where the white supremacist group Stormfront -- this has been a call to action, the rhetoric that we're seeing. It concerns me.
"I think that most of our largest domestic threat comes from racial supremacist groups. I've worked in counterterrorism; I know this to be a fact," Carson told ABC's "This Week" with George Stephanopoulos.
Carson said he thinks he's the only member of Congress to work in an intelligence fusion center [1].
"What we have to understand is that we live -- we're living in the time where there's a restoration movement taking place. People want to take us back to some mythological good ol' days, and there are elected officials who are capitalizing on this sentiment," he said, referring to Donald Trump.
"We will see next year. The American people are very intelligent, they will push back on this kind of rhetoric because it's very dangerous. Mr. Trump -- I've met Mr. Trump, I've read most of his books -- he's a smart man. Which is why his rhetoric is that much more dangerous and we have to push back, George."
Stephanopoulos asked Carson what he would say to Americans who believe that Islam is inconsistent with American values.
"They need to know that there are numerous terrorist attempts that are thwarted weekly almost, and they're thwarted because Muslims are working behind the scenes, helping to keep Americans safe," Carson replied.
"Look at our -- look at our jobs numbers. There are Muslim businessmen and women who are starting business and guess what, George? They're putting Americans back to work.
"Americans should know that not only is Islam a religion of peace, but Muslims are here and a valuable part of your society."
'American Muslims are not the problem'
Appearing with Carson, Nihad Awad, the executive director of the Council on American Islamic Relations, said the Muslim community is "extremely concerned" about the "anti-Muslim sentiment that has been, unfortunately, fueled by Donald Trump."
"American Muslims are not the problem," Awad told Stephanopoulos. "Forty percent of the terrorists plots were foiled by the contribution and involvement of the American Muslim families and members.
"And also let's look at the bigger picture. ISIS wants us to be afraid. ISIS wants to divide us. What ISIS wants us to be afraid of one another. And unfortunately the bigger picture is the fact that we have 355 mass shootings in 2015 alone, and we see disproportionate media and political attention given to the acts of few thugs related to ISIS in the United States, but not the 350 mass shootings, which means more than one mass shooting per day happened in the United States.
"Many happened at the hands of people who are not of the Islamic faith, but unfortunately we are giving a lot of credit to ISIS and to their recruited individuals, who are very few in the United States."
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http://cnsnews.com/news/article/susan-jones/muslim-congressman-our-largest-domestic-threat-comes-racial-supremacist 
