WaPost: Carson's Statement on Islam Rallying Right to His Side

Ben Carson came under immediate fire on Sunday when he said on "Meet the Press" that a Muslim should not serve as president, but the statement has since rallied conservative pundits to his side, The Washington Post's David Weigel writes.

Carson's first boost came from Council on American-Islamic Relations Executive Director Nihad Awad, who called on him to withdraw from the race for the Republican presidential nomination.

CAIR might carry weight with the mainstream media and the left, but not so much with Carson's fellow conservatives, Weigle notes.

"To many, like Center for Security Policy founder Frank Gaffney, it's viewed as a veritable fifth column that may be 'engaged in money-laundering foreign funds to pay for civilizational jihad here,'" Weigle wrote.

Gaffney, in an appearance with radio talk show host Alan Colmes, said, "We are confronting a problem called Sharia that is the authoritative version of Islam, not practiced by a lot of Muslims, but those who do have an obligation to force it on the rest of us. It is absolutely anti-constitutional."

Radio host Mark Levin weighed in as well.

"There's a difference in Islam that does not apply to Judaism and Christianity and other religions," Levin said. "That is, Sharia law is not just a governing law in your personal lives. It is a governing law. That's why in Saudi Arabia, they set up Sharia courts."

"If you look into Sharia law, you will not find any consistency with the U.S. Constitution," radio host Rush Limbaugh agreed. "Sharia law is the law which is used to behead women in Islamic countries who have been raped. Sharia law is the reason women in Islamic countries can't drive. Sharia law is so inconsistent with the U.S. Constitution. Ben Carson could not be more right."

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