Rep. Fine to Newsmax: No Regret Over Dogs-Muslim Flap

Rep. Randy Fine, R-Fla., told Newsmax on Monday he will not back down from a social media post that ignited controversy after he declared that if Americans were forced to choose between dogs and Muslims, "the choice ... is not a difficult one."

Fine told "Finnerty" he doesn't plan to resign.

"And you know what? They're going to have to get used to it," he said.

The uproar followed comments by Nerdeen Kiswani, a Palestinian Muslim activist in New York, who wrote on Feb. 12 in a post on X that dung-filled snowdrifts in the city proved dogs should not be indoor pets because "[l]ike we've said all along, they are unclean."

Fine responded on Feb. 15 in a post on X: "If they force us to choose, the choice between dogs and Muslims is not a difficult one."

Asked whether he regretted his post, Fine said, "Not at all."

"I actually think it's great because what it has done is it has made people realize what we are up against," he said.

"Those who are trying to bring Sharia to America want us to submit to their faith. It's OK not to like dogs. It's weird, but it's OK," Fine continued.

"It's not OK to tell me I can't have a dog because you don't like them," he said.

"When a Republican congressman says, 'This is America; we get to keep our dogs; and if you don't like it, you can go home,' they lose their minds," Fine said.

During the interview, Fine also criticized public calls to prayer during Ramadan in parts of New York City, describing them as "a form of submission" and "a form of intimidation."

"That call to prayer says there is no God but Allah. Christians believe in Jesus, but they don't demand that everyone else submit," he said.

"Jews, of which I am one, believe certain things, but we don't force everyone else to submit. But this version of Islam demands that everyone submit to it," Fine continued.

"It will start with our puppies. It will start with these street prayers. It will not end there."

Host Rob Finnerty noted that a social media user had replaced the word "Muslim" in Fine's post with "Jews" and asked Fine if he understood why some found it offensive.

"Here's the difference: Jews aren't telling people that they can't have dogs," he said.

"We may not eat pork and we may not eat shellfish, but we're not telling the supermarket that they can't sell them. That's the difference here," Fine said.

"And my post was very simple. If you're going to make me choose between having my dog or making a group of people who've immigrated to this country happy by taking my dog away, I choose my dog," he said.

"And I've got news for you: 99% of Americans feel exactly the same way."

Fine has since introduced legislation titled the Protecting Puppies From Sharia Act, which would bar federal funds from going to any state or local government that prohibits residents from owning dogs.

The bill states that "Sharia law is a foreign concept that is against the pursuit of happiness" and declares it "a right of all Americans to own a dog."

"We've got 12 co-sponsors already. Puppies are as American as apple pie and motherhood," Fine said.

"And so this is a good bill, and we ought to let Democrats vote against it and say they're fine with Sharia coming to America," he said.

"Let's have that vote. Let's have it on the House floor."

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