Minnesota GOP leader breaks with Trump, Cruz on Muslims

Minnesota GOP Chairman Keith Downey is breaking from leading Republican presidential candidates after controversial remarks about Muslims by Donald Trump and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.

Downey spoke at "Muslim Day at the Capitol" last week after deadly attacks in Brussels by Islamic terrorist group ISIL. The attacks prompted Trump and Cruz to call for closer scrutiny of Muslims to protect the country from dangerous extremists.

The GOP chairman, who spoke at the annual event for the first time, quoted extensively from letters he exchanged with Asad Zaman, executive director of the Muslim American Society of Minnesota and an organizer of the discussion. Downey told the audience that "the political debate occurring in this context unfortunately is severely hampered by a lack of knowledge about Islam and the Muslim community in America."

Downey said that all sides need a better understanding of one another.

Noting that his organization renounced Trump's proposals on Muslims, Downey added that "there should also be an equally informed … affirmation by leaders of the Muslim community that they support our nation's constitutional principles … of religious liberty and specifically renounce any attempts to replace our constitutional system with sharia law."

Downey said it is important for Muslim leaders to show that their goals are "to integrate into American society and our constitutional system while maintaining your ethnic and religious distinctiveness" and embracing a culture of religious freedom.

He said many Americans are asking basic questions about Islam "in good will" and that their motivation is better understanding, not racism.

Downey said he wants a respectful dialogue on complex issues surfacing in the presidential race. He said he disagrees with Trump's policies on Muslims, but disputed any comparison of the rise of the New York billionaire to that of Adolf Hitler. He added that attacking an opponent's character and motivations is "the very antithesis of civil discourse."

Mohammed Dukuly, an imam at a Brooklyn Center mosque, condemned the terrorist attack in Brussels and told the crowd that Muslim leaders would ask lawmakers to speak out against Islamophobia and come to their worship centers to learn about the Muslim faith. But while Dukuly praised Downey's speech, he said he disagreed that Trump's remarks about Muslims should be protected as free speech. "When it comes to saying something that creates havoc and brings destabilization among people, those things should not be considered freedom of speech," Dukuly said.

Downey said the Republican Party is working on more outreach to Muslim voters and plans leadership training sessions later this spring aimed at not only Muslims, but also members of ethnic minority groups, women and millennials.

Zaman said Muslims should talk with politicians of both parties.

"It's very important that both sides are talking. … The conversation is not exactly where we want it, but I'm glad we're having the conversation."

Maya Rao • 651-925-5043