Muslim group says Ben Carson should withdraw from presidential race

Ben Carson speaks during church in Des Moines, Iowa. (Justin Sullivan/Getty)

The Council on American-Islamic Relations wants Dr Ben Carson to withdraw from the 2016 presidential race.

During a press conference on Monday morning, CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad slammed the former neurosurgeon for saying he does not want to see a Muslim-American as president of the United States.

“If an individual clearly doesn’t abide by or care about the Constitution, I think that’s a disqualifier in terms of running for the nation’s highest office. So we’re calling for him to withdraw from the race.”

During the troubling "Meet the Press" interview, Dr Carson said a president's faith should matter "depending on what the faith is."

Moments after CAIR's press conference, Carson's business manager Armstrong Williams told CNN that many people share Dr Carson's views.

"He has to come to the conclusion for what is best for America. In his heart of hearts he could never advocate for a Muslim to become President of the United States," he said.

Unfortunately for the Republican hopeful, his fellow GOP members did not agree with this comments.

Lindsey Graham wrote on Twitter that Dr Carson should apologise for his remarks and said that America is not owned by any particular religion.

Mr Williams also seemed to dodge CNN host Jake Tapper's question as to the message Dr Carson would be sending Muslim-American children. There are reportedly more than 2.7 million Muslim citizens in the US.

Read more: Ben Carson says Muslims shouldn't be president