A look at Dr. Carson’s opinion on Muslim president
Should a person of the Muslim faith become a candidate for the presidency of the United States, asking the candidate the following questions would be appropriate (“Extremism in the defense of, what,” Editorial, WJW, Oct. 1):
Do you accept women as equal to men in every respect, and will you condemn and prohibit honor killings, forced genital mutilation and discrimination against women in any form?
Do you accept the LGBT community as equal in every sense, and do you agree that you will not discriminate against them?
Do you reject Sharia law, and acknowledge that it is in direct conflict with the democratic values of America?
Have you condemned Iran’s threat to destroy Israel, and do you accept Israel as an equal among nations?
Will you pledge allegiance to the United States of America, and if so, will this be in conflict with total submission to Allah, as is required of the followers of Islam?
If the candidate’s answers are unsatisfactory or not believable, a vote against the candidate would seem to be in violation of our Constitution, in that our Constitution mandates that “no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust,” as was put to Dr. Ben Carson in response to his statement, “I would not advocate that we put a Muslim in charge of this nation.”
If one is concerned about the answers to these questions, which go directly to the heart of our Constitution, isn’t Dr. Carson’s position reasonable, realistic and justifiable, notwithstanding the Constitutional issue?
ROBERT I. LAPPIN
Swampscott, Mass.
Husband of woman with breast cancer offended
As the husband of a woman recently diagnosed with breast cancer, I take great offense to your editorial which states that 90 percent of all breast cancer is caused by lifestyle (“Raising breast cancer awareness,” Editorial, WJW, Oct. 22). Your quotes by Dr. Marisa Weiss have to be mistaken because no highly educated cancer specialist would ever say that. Yes, the BRCA gene might cause breast cancer, but there [are] no scientific studies that state if you change your lifestyle you will not get breast cancer.
CAL KLAUSNER
Arlington
I see Mr. Lappin and raise him:
Should a fervently observant person of the Jewish faith become a candidate for the presidency of the United States, asking the candidate the following questions would be appropriate:
Do you accept women as equal to men in every respect, and will you condemn and prohibit discrimination against women in any form?
Do you accept the LGBT community as equal in every sense, and do you agree that you will not discriminate against them?
Do you reject Halacha, and acknowledge that it is in many aspects, it is in direct conflict with the democratic values of America? (Such as: rabbinic ;aw allows bigamy for males; violation of the Holy Sabbath is a capital crime; with their father’s permission, girls may be betrothed-and the marriage consummated – from the age of three years and one day (Talmud: yebamoth 57b).
Will you pledge allegiance to the United States of America, and if so, will this be in conflict with total submission to God, as is required of all Torah-true followers of Judaism?