A national Muslim advocacy organization responded to Lt. Governor Micah Beckwith’s statement “I hate Islam, it’s a demonic death cult.”
Beckwith has since doubled down on those comments, posting on social media that he wishes all Muslims would become Christians.
Beckwith's initial comments were made last week on the streaming Christian show FlashPoint, saying that it was important to give people quote “permission to hate again.”
In response, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, CAIR, released a statement urging Beckwith to visit a Mosque and meet with members of the Indiana Muslim community.
Robert McCaw is the Government Affairs Director with CAIR. He said Beckwith’s comments are dangerous and come on the heels of a recent attack on a California Mosque.
“Lieutenant Governor Beckwith is using the station of his office to make it clear to residents in Indiana and across the country that he's okay with people hating on Muslims, disparaging Islam, and that opens up the possibility of violence against our communities,” McCaw said.
The statements aren’t the first time Beckwith has seen backlash for comments posted online. Last year, the Indiana Black Legislative Caucus pushed back after Beckwith called the three fifths compromise, which did not allow slave-holding states to count enslaved people as whole persons for purposes of representation in the U.S. Congress, a “great move.”
Those comments prompted Gov. Mike Braun to say he disagreed with Beckwith.
CAIR’s McCaw said that Beckwith’s comments about Islam are part of an increase in anti-Muslim comments ahead of the November primary.
“We're not asking for a simple apology from Lieutenant Governor Beckwith,” McCaw said. “We want him to engage with his Muslim constituents, visit a mosque in Indiana, and make it clear that hateful rhetoric targeting Muslims, Islam, or any other minority in that state is just politically infeasible and beneath his office.”
Beckwith’s office did not respond to WFYI’s request for comment.
Contact Government Reporter Benjamin Thorp at bthorp@wfyi.org
