Rick Perry: There Are No Muslim Neighborhoods in America
http://www.frontpagemag.com/point/262612/rick-perry-there-are-no-muslim-neighborhoods-daniel-greenfieldApril 23, 2016
Daniel Greenfield
After Ted Cruz's call to patrol Muslim neighborhoods, the media began circulating this bizarre and unreal claim. Now in an interview about how much he loves Muslims, ex-Texas governor Rick Perry echoes it.
In the interview, Perry sought to draw a distinction between how Muslims are welcomed in America as opposed to Europe, where many Muslims are not as integrated.
Smart policy dictates engaging Muslims in the fight against Islamist terrorism, he said, not surveilling them:
"The idea that there are definable Muslim communities in this country is false. We don’t have Muslim neighborhoods. They don’t exist—because they are our neighbors."
Whatever anyone's feelings are on Islam, there clearly are definable Muslim neighborhoods in the United States. I've only been to Texas once so I won't speak of it with any confidence, but these places certainly exist in New York and New Jersey. Not to mention Chicago and plenty of other cities. They exist beyond that as well. The name Little Mogadishu is in circulation for a reason.
“I think we have to be careful of falling into a trap,” Perry told The Daily Signal, explaining:
"There have always been people that used differences—in skin color, religion, and culture—to divide us. America has always been able to overcome that. So it’s up to people like me to share the reality that I have had with the Muslim community."
I can remember a time when Robert Spencer, Pamela Geller and myself were attacked by Rick Perry supporters for discussing his views on Islam. But that's the danger of cults of personality. They tend to overwhelm issues and facts.
