Nadine Osman
Arkansas legislature, Senator Jason Raperts, has been slammed for comments that appeared to question the right of Muslim Americans to vote.
In a Facebook post, the Republican voiced concern over high turnout among Muslims in the general midterm elections.
On November 30, Rapert, who also founded the National Association of Christian Lawmakers, tweeted a story from a right-wing conspiracy site about a report by the Council on American-Islamic Relations on the high Muslim voter turnout in the midterm elections, and commented, “Do you want them ruling everything in America?”
In a later post, he wrote: “If you read this article and don’t see real political concerns then you have a problem perceiving news.” Rapert has since tried to walk back his bigoted comments.
“It is unconscionable for an elected official to question the right of political participation by any American based solely on his or her religious beliefs,” said Council on American-Islamic Relations Government Affairs Director, Robert McCaw. “Senator Rapert’s bigoted comments reflect dangerous ideologies of the past that should be repudiated, not promoted.”
Rapert has responded to criticism by insisting he was just sharing an article and asking a question.