CAIR thanks Ron Paul for countering Santorum at GOP debate

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The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) on Wednesday thanked GOP presidential hopeful Ron Paul for rejecting profiling during CNN’s Republican debate, and directed their ire at another presidential candidate, Rick Santorum.

During the Tuesday night debate, CNN’s Wolf Blitzer noted that Santorum had advocated profiling in the past.

“Just to be precise, is it ethnic profiling, religious profiling, who would be profiled?” Blitzer asked.

“The folks that are most likely to be committing these crimes,” Santorum replied. “Obviously Muslims would be someone you’d look at, absolutely.”

“That’s digging our hole for ourselves,” Paul disagreed. “What if they look like [Oklahoma City bomber] Timothy McVeigh?”

According to the Muslim advocacy group, profiling is not only unconstitutional, but the practice also hinders anti-terrorism efforts.

“Last night, Rick Santorum casually tossed aside every American’s constitutional right to equal protection under the law in favor of discriminatory profiling of Muslims,” said CAIR National Legislative Director Corey Saylor. “Mr. Santorum’s obvious lack of appreciation for the Constitution and for the rejection of profiling by top law enforcement experts raises reasonable questions about his ability to lead our multi-faith nation.”

“The International Association of Chiefs of Police and other security specialists reject racial profiling. President Bush called it ‘wrong.’ In 2009, President Obama pledged to end the counterproductive practice.”

“We remind Mr. Santorum that the Prophet Jesus (peace be upon him), a man of Middle Eastern heritage, would fit his ‘profile,’” Saylor noted.