State Representative Monty Fritts is running for governor of Tennessee with a campaign platform that includes a goal to ban mosques and what he refers to as pagan religions, including Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism. The 63-year-old Republican candidate made these comments while on the campaign trail with just four days left in the state’s early primary voting period. The primary election is scheduled for August 6.
According to WSMV4, Fritts’ views on Islam specifically are rooted in his claim that the faith is not a religion but rather a political movement. “Islam is a little different story than perhaps other religions are, in that it’s not necessarily a religion; it’s a political movement,” Fritts said in an interview. “It’s that movement that, if you don’t submit, you perhaps are executed. I feel that Islam is incongruent with both our U.S. and Tennessee Constitution.”
