Republican presidential candidate
Mitt Romney says the Muslims he knows are "peace-loving and America-loving individuals."
At a campaign event in Cedar Rapids Friday, the subject of how to handle the threat posed by radical Islam was raised.
As reported in the
Des Moines Register, Romney reminded the gathering he had grown up in the Detroit area which has a large Muslim community.
About radical Islam Romney said, "They take a very different view of Islam than the Muslims I know."
"I believe people of the Islamic faith do not have to subscribe to the ideas of radical, violence and jihadism," added Romney.
One man at the event claimed he had not heard Muslims denouncing Islamic jihad or terrorism.
Romney countered, saying , "Most Muslims are peaceful people who deserve respect" but he emphasized radicals pose a threat to Americans and others around the world.
Writes Wilfredo Amr Ruiz in the Huffington, Romney has had trouble resonating with the American Muslim Community.
Ruiz, a Muslim chaplain in addition to being an attorney and political analyst, pointed out in a report that the Council of American Islamic Relations called on Romney to remove Dr. Walid Phares as a foreign policy adviser on his campaign.
The council said Phares had belonged to a Christian militia known as the Lebanese Forces. and was involved with other militia groups responsible for killing Muslims.
Phares is also an adviser to Congress on Middle East issues.
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