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Rocky Mountain News – Sept. 21, 2006
CO: Tancredo urges Pope to stand his ground
Tom Tancredo's letter drew ire from a Muslim aide for Rep. John Salazar
M.E. Sprengelmeyer
Controversy over the pope's recent statements about Islam spilled into Colorado politics on Wednesday, as Rep. Tom Tancredo urged the pontiff to "resist calls to apologize," and a Muslim congressional staff member accused Tancredo of throwing "fuel on the fire with his hateful words."
Tancredo, a Littleton Republican, sent a letter urging Pope Benedict XVI to stand his ground on a recent speech in which he quoted a 14th century Byzantine emperor who said, "Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached."
"It is not surprising that your statements prompted such a visceral reaction in much of the Islamic world, where the free exercise of religion is largely proscribed," Tancredo wrote. "Conversion from Islam to any other religion is illegal. Punishment is swift and severe - in some cases death."
Tancredo was raised Roman Catholic but is a member of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church. He has spoken about what he sees as a "clash of civilizations" between Islamic radicals and Western societies. He drew worldwide ire in 2005 when, in response to a hypothetical question, he told an interviewer that the U.S. could threaten to bomb the holy site of Mecca in the event of terrorist attacks.
In Wednesday's letter, Tancredo cited four quotations from the Quran that he believes prove the point the pope was making, including calls to "smite" unbelievers and "slay the idolaters wherever you find them."
The letter drew an angry response from Nayyera Haq, communications director for Rep. John Salazar. Haq, who is Muslim, stressed in an e-mail that she was speaking for herself and not for her boss.
"As a man, Tom Tancredo has always been articulate in expressing his hatred of Islam and immigrants - no surprise there," Haq said. "In his arrogance, he chooses to disregard the existence of millions of law-abiding Muslim American citizens. What is surprising is that as an elected representative, someone who should be working towards our collective safety, Tancredo chooses to throw more fuel on the fire with his hateful words."
"Tancredo is being irresponsible with his congressional authority and is knowingly creating a more dangerous environment for all of us. Congressman Tancredo should focus more on building bridges with the progressives in the Muslim world rather than burning the few bridges we have left."
Many Muslim leaders have called for the pope to make a more direct apology.
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5009484,00.html
Southern Poverty Law Center – Sept. 11, 2006
Congressman Tancredo addresses hate group
By Alexander Zaitchik
COLUMBIA, S.C. | Sept. 11, 2006 -- For a college football game day, the South Carolina State Museum in downtown Columbia was a busy place on the afternoon of Saturday, Sept. 9.
On the ground floor, a United States Army brass band commemorated the victims of 9/11. One level up, not far from the museum's permanent Confederate Army exhibit, the state chapter of the League of the South (LOS), a neo-Confederate hate group, hosted a barbeque in honor of Colorado Congressman Tom Tancredo, head of the House Immigration Reform Caucus and likely contestant in the 2008 GOP presidential primary. Proceeds from the $15 per-plate fundraiser went to Americans Have Had Enough!, a South Carolina-based non-profit coalition for which Tancredo serves as honorary chairman.
While Tancredo's hard-line "deport 'em all" stance on immigration has made him a favorite politician of white supremacists, this marked the first time the congressman has appeared at a hate group event.
Dressed casually in a yellow t-shirt, Tancredo addressed the standing-room audience of 200-250 from behind a podium draped in a Confederate battle flag. To the congressman's right, a portrait of Robert E. Lee peered out at the crowd of Minutemen activists, local politicians, and red-shirted members of LOS and the Sons of Confederate Veterans. The Confederate trappings of the event found a mismatch in Tancredo's standard nativist polemic, which stayed clear of references to Southern heritage or direct plaudits for the LOS, a Southern white nationalist organization dedicated to "Southern independence, complete, full, and total."
http://www.splcenter.org/intel/news/item.jsp?aid=79
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