Friday on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN), the first practicing Muslim to be elected to Congress, criticized former House Speaker Newt Gingrich for his call to deport those who believe in Sharia law on Fox News Channel’s “Hannity” a night earlier.
“So the bottom line is this, you know – there is no such thing as one Sharia,” Ellison said. “Sharia varies from time to time, from place to place. There’s no unified document. In fact, fasting Ramadan is Sharia, by the way. So that’s the problem with what Newt Gingrich is saying. He’s talking about violent attacks on attacks on innocent people. That is what we all must condemn. That is what is unacceptable and we have to engage everyone to stop this kind of thing. And that means if you’re Muslim, Christian, Jew – whatever you are we have to confront it together.”
“He does know better,” Ellison added. “That’s the sad thing about Newt Gingrich. He’s a very smart man. It’s just calculating, pandering and it’s really sad.”
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