--- title: Ben Carson Would Fail U.S. History description: The idea of a Muslim president was first debated 227 years ago canonical: https://time.com/4042435/ben-carson-would-fail-u-s-history/ author: TIME article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-09-21T18:19:33.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:01:34.851Z article:section: Ideas og:title: Ben Carson Would Fail U.S. History og:description: The idea of a Muslim president was first debated 227 years ago og:url: https://time.com/4042435/ben-carson-would-fail-u-s-history/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt17aa26ce9398f67d/6988647a8e06013ad74626c8/ben-carson3.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson takes part in the presidential debates at the Reagan Library in Simi Valley, California on Sept. 16, 2015. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Ben Carson Would Fail U.S. History twitter:description: The idea of a Muslim president was first debated 227 years ago twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt17aa26ce9398f67d/6988647a8e06013ad74626c8/ben-carson3.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Ben Carson Would Fail U.S. History ## Video: Watch Ben Carson Say Muslims Shouldn't Be Elected President [Watch (HLS stream): Watch Ben Carson Say Muslims Shouldn't Be Elected President](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/7nmOLMvX.m3u8) (0:51)  _Published 2015-09-21. Watch Ben Carson Say Muslims Shouldn't Be Elected President_ by [Denise A. Spellberg](https://time.com/author/denise-a-spellberg/) ## Denise A. Spellberg Sep 21, 2015 6:19 PM UTC  Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson takes part in the presidential debates at the Reagan Library in Simi Valley, Calif. on Sept. 16, 2015. Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson takes part in the presidential debates at the Reagan Library in Simi Valley, Calif. on Sept. 16, 2015.Justin Sullivan—Getty Images by [Denise A. Spellberg](https://time.com/author/denise-a-spellberg/) ## Denise A. Spellberg Sep 21, 2015 6:19 PM UTC On Sunday, when GOP presidential candidate Ben Carson [said](http://time.com/4041624/ben-carson-muslim-president/): “I would not advocate that we put a Muslim in charge of this nation,” he entered into a debate about the presidency—and the Constitution’s religious test—that began in the 18th century. Carson now stands on the wrong side of history, projecting the distorted view of an exclusively Christian nation. Could a Muslim be president of the U.S.? The concise, legal and constitutional answer is: yes. The Constitution’s[ Article VI, section 3](https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/articlevi) clearly includes Muslims: “No religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.” The idea of a Muslim president was first debated 227 years ago, in 1788, during the state-by-state battle to ratify the Constitution. Many feared a Muslim president then, but, arguably, more feared a Jewish or a Catholic one, at a time when these religions had minorities of 2,000 and 25,000, respectively. One Massachusetts politician [insisted](http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/ows/seminarsbha/AntiFederalist.pdf): “There is a door opened for Jews, Turks, and Heathens to enter into publick office, and be seated at the head of the government of the United States.” At the time, all Muslims were conflated wrongly under the ethnicity “Turks.” Delegates to the New Hampshire ratification debate worried that “a Turk, a Jew, a Roman Catholic, and what is worse than all, a Universalist, may be President of the United States.” ### See Ben Carson's Life in Photos  An early childhood photograph of Ben Carson. Courtesy of Ben Carson Campaign  Ben Carson's graduation from Southwestern High School, Detroit circa 1969. Courtesy of Ben Carson Campaign  Ben Carson with his mother, Sonya, and his future wife, Candy after his graduation from Yale University, circa 1973. Courtesy of Ben Carson Campaign  Dr. Donlin Long, director of neurosurgery, left, and Dr. Ben Carson director of pediatric neurosurgery at John Hopkins Hospital, with brain model of the Siamese twins separated in a 22-hour surgery at Hopkins, Sept. 7, 1987, in Baltimore. Fred Kraft—AP  Dr. Ben Carson shares his personal story with middle school students on March 17, 2000 in Roswell, N.M. Aaron J. Walker—AP  Dr Dennis Rohner, Dr Beat Hammer, Dr Ivan Ng, Dr Ben Carson, Prof. Walter Tan, and Dr Keith Goh rehearse an operation to separate conjoined twins Ladan and Laleh Bijani from Iran at Raffles Hospital on July 5, 2003 in Singapore. Reuters  Dr. Keith Goh (left) adjusts the frame on conjoined twins Ladan and Laleh Bijani as Dr. Ben Carson observes the start of neurosurgery proceedings at the Raffles Hospital on July 6, 2003 in Singapore. Getty Images  Ten-year-old Indian twins Sabah and Farah sit beside Ben Carson (C), Managing Director, Apollo Hospital, New Delhi, Anne Marie Moncure, their father Shakeel (L), their brother (R) and senior child specialist of Apollo Hospital, Dr. Anupan Sibal, on Oct. 4, 2005 in New Delhi. Raveendran—AFP/Getty Images  George W. Bush presents a Presidential Medal of Freedom to Ben Carson for his work with neurological disorders on June 19, 2008 at the White House in Washington. Alex Wong—Getty Images  Ben Carson officially announces his candidacy for President of the United States on May 4, 2015 in Detroit. Bill Pugliano—Getty Images  Ben Carson poses for a photo during the Iowa Republican Party's Lincoln Dinner on May 16, 2015, in Des Moines, Iowa. Charlie Neibergall—AP  Ben Carson speaks during the Energizing America Gala at the 2015 Southern Republican Leadership Conference May 22, 2015 in Oklahoma City, Okla. Alex Wong—Getty Images  Ben Carson at a political fund-raiser for GOP candidates on June 6, 2015, in Boone, Iowa. Jabin Bostford—The Washington Post/Getty Images  Republican presidential candidates from left, Chris Christie, Marco Rubio, Ben Carson, Scott Walker, Donald Trump, Jeb Bush, Mike Huckabee, Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, and John Kasich take the stage for the first Republican presidential debate on Aug. 6, 2015, in Cleveland. Andrew Harnik—AP  Ben Carson prays during church services at Maple Street Missionary Baptist Church on Aug. 16, 2015 in Des Moines , Iowa. Justin Sullivan—Getty Images  Ben Carson rides the Sky Glider with a reporter while touring the Iowa State Fair on Aug. 16, 2015 in Des Moines, Iowa. Justin Sullivan—Getty Images  Ben Carson and his wife Candy on Aug. 18, 2015 in Phoenix. Ross D. Franklin—AP  Ben Carson is greeted by supporters at a rally on Aug. 27, 2015 in Little Rock, Ark. Danny Johnston—AP  Ben Carson at a service at Maple Street Missionary Baptist Church on Aug. 16, 2015 in Des Moines. Daniel Acker—Bloomberg/Getty Images On July 30, 1788, in Hillsborough, N.C., the possibility of a Muslim president became a flash-point. At the ratification debate, Henry Abbot, an Anti-Federalist delegate, [argued](http://www.patheos.com/blogs/wildhunt/2012/02/our-pagan-president-and-our-pagan-democracy.html): “They suppose that if there be no religious test required, pagans, deists, and Mahometans \[Muslims\] might obtain offices among us.” Abbot, a Protestant, had inherited enduring fears about both Catholicism and Islam as religious and political threats. Since the 16th century, the Protestant Antichrist had boasted two heads: the Pope and the Ottoman Turkish sultan. Abbot included Muslims in order to force Federalist defenders of the Constitution to champion the rights of Muslims, members of a then foreign, feared faith. His tactic worked. Federalist delegate James Iredell responded in support of the Constitution’s novel, inclusive ideals: “America has set an example to mankind to think more modestly and reasonably—that a man may be of different religious sentiments from our own, without being a bad member of society.” Iredell demanded that these federal legal precedents embrace _all_ believers, including Muslims. Iredell, who would later be appointed to the Supreme Court by President George Washington, knew that the constitutional principle at stake demanded legal application, _without_ religious exception: “But how is it possible to exclude any set of men, without taking away that principle of religious freedom which we ourselves so warmly contend for?” Iredell’s North Carolina Federalists lost their bid at constitutional ratification in 1788 by a landslide, but it didn’t matter. A month earlier, in June, New Hampshire ratified the Constitution, and the founding document went into effect on March 4, 1789. Since then, we have elected one Catholic president, John F. Kennedy. Yet even in 1960, fears about Catholicism as a foreign faith, and the Pope as the president’s puppet-master, dogged Kennedy’s campaign. Today, it’s not unusual to imagine a Catholic, or Jewish, president. It’s a shame that in this religiously diverse country, Muslims seem to still inspire unconstitutional–and un-American assaults on our most cherished ideal: civic equality, regardless of religion. A spokesperson for Carson’s campaign since clarified the candidate’s remarks, [saying](http://time.com/4042347/ben-carson-muslim-president-defense/): “He just doesn’t believe the American people are ready for that.” But that is not for him to decide. If Carson can’t, as the Constitution demands, “be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution,” then he should not aspire to be elected president. ### See the Covers of the 2016 Presidential Hopefuls' Memoirs  The cover of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's 2014 book "Hard Choices" is a classic of the political memoir genre: The politician's face, front and center with a strong but vague title beneath.  Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina's 2007 book "Tough Choices" followed the same playbook as Clinton's, even down to the similar titles.  Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson's 2014 book "One Nation" is a variation on the theme, the crossed arms and the subtitle underlining the message, since he's not been a politician before.  Former New York Gov. George Pataki's 1998 autobiography, "Pataki," presents him as such a towering figure that he doesn't even need a regular title.  Other politicians go for a softer touch with a more autobiographical book to help voters learn more about who they are, as in Florida Sen. Marco Rubio's 2013 memoir, "An American Son."  South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham's 2015 e-book, "My Story," takes a similar approach.  Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum's 2005 book, "Rick Santorum," is less autobiographical, but the cover also goes for the soft touch.  Some books zero in on a specific image. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee's 2015 book, "God, Guns, Grits and Gravy" and the photo of him, tieless, in a pastoral scene, sells him as an avatar of rural America.  Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry's 2014 book defends the Boy Scouts, reinforcing the fact that he's an Eagle Scout and a cultural conservative.  And business mogul Donald Trump's 1988 book, "The Art of the Deal," sells his image as a dealmaker so much that he still references it today.  Other candidates aim to show they are leaders, as in Ohio Gov. John Kasich's 2006 book, "Stand for Something."  Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul's 2015 book, "Taking a Stand," goes a similar route, though the subtitle, "Moving Beyond Partisan Politics," gives it a slightly different spin.  Texas Sen. Ted Cruz's 2015 book also pitches him as a truth teller, with a casual portrait and the title "A Time for Truth." AP  Former Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee's 2010 book, "Against the Tide," also promotes him as willing to go it alone, in this case referencing his vote against the Iraq war.  Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's 2014 book, "Unintimidated," goes the same route, promoting his fight against labor unions. Penguin Group/AP  And Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal's 2010 book, "Leadership and Crisis," adds a photo of first responders to bring to mind natural disasters.  But the cover of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders' 1998 memoir shows that he really does go his own way. 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