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Washington (CNN) — Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich on Thursday called for the U.S. to test every person with a Muslim background to see if they believe in Sharia law, and deport those who do.
"Let me be as blunt and direct as I can be. Western civilization is in a war. We should frankly test every person here who is of a Muslim background, and if they believe in Sharia, they should be deported," Gingrich said in an interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity. "Sharia is incompatible with Western civilization. Modern Muslims who have given up Sharia, glad to have them as citizens. Perfectly happy to have them next door."
"How do we ascertain -- how do you possibly ascertain whether or not that person really wants assimilation, really wants a new life, or whether or not they want to expand that caliphate, which is what we're at war against?" Hannity asked Thursday.
"The first step is you have to ask them the questions," Gingrich responded. "The second step is you have to monitor what they're doing on the Internet. The third step is, let me be very clear, you have to monitor the mosques. I mean, if you're not prepared to monitor the mosques, this whole thing is a joke. Where do you think the primary source of recruitment is? Where do you think the primary place of indoctrination is? You've got to look at the madrassas -- if you're a school which is teaching Sharia, you want to expel it from the country."
The comments by Gingrich -- who was a finalist to be Donald Trump's running mate before the real estate mogul tapped Indiana Gov. Mike Pence on Thursday -- are similar to ones made by Trump himself last fall, when he called for surveillance of "certain mosques" to counter terrorist threats.
Gingrich also said Thursday that calling Islam a "religion of peace" is "bologna."
"It's not that Islamists are necessarily evil, but they're not necessarily a religion of peace," Gingrich said.
Newt Gingrich: Test every Muslim in U.S. to see if they believe in Sharia - CNNPolitics.com
"Let me be as blunt and direct as I can be. Western civilization is in a war. We should frankly test every person here who is of a Muslim background, and if they believe in Sharia, they should be deported," Gingrich said in an interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity. "Sharia is incompatible with Western civilization. Modern Muslims who have given up Sharia, glad to have them as citizens. Perfectly happy to have them next door."
"How do we ascertain -- how do you possibly ascertain whether or not that person really wants assimilation, really wants a new life, or whether or not they want to expand that caliphate, which is what we're at war against?" Hannity asked Thursday.
"The first step is you have to ask them the questions," Gingrich responded. "The second step is you have to monitor what they're doing on the Internet. The third step is, let me be very clear, you have to monitor the mosques. I mean, if you're not prepared to monitor the mosques, this whole thing is a joke. Where do you think the primary source of recruitment is? Where do you think the primary place of indoctrination is? You've got to look at the madrassas -- if you're a school which is teaching Sharia, you want to expel it from the country."
The comments by Gingrich -- who was a finalist to be Donald Trump's running mate before the real estate mogul tapped Indiana Gov. Mike Pence on Thursday -- are similar to ones made by Trump himself last fall, when he called for surveillance of "certain mosques" to counter terrorist threats.
Gingrich also said Thursday that calling Islam a "religion of peace" is "bologna."
"It's not that Islamists are necessarily evil, but they're not necessarily a religion of peace," Gingrich said.
Newt Gingrich: Test every Muslim in U.S. to see if they believe in Sharia - CNNPolitics.com