Washington: As Republican presidential candidates engaged in fiery debate on the threat posed by radical Islam, top party aspirant Ted Cruz cited the example of India and said millions of Muslims live in peace there without any such problem, as he differed with front-runner Donald Trump's idea of banning Muslim immigrants.
"There are millions of peaceful Muslims across the world, in countries like India, where there is not the problems we are seeing in nations that are controlled by al-Qaeda or ISIS,
and we should direct at the problem, focus on the problem, and defeat radical Islamic terrorism," 44-year-old Cruz said.
Participating in the fifth Republican presidential debate in Las Vegas, the last this year, Cruz said it is not a war on a faith; it's a war on a political and theocratic ideology
that seeks to murder Americans.
A Senator from Texas, Cruz's popularity in recent week has gained ground but is still far behind Trump, who during the debate reiterated his position of a temporary ban on
Muslims entering the United States.
"We're not talking about religion. We're talking about security. Our country is out of control. People are pouring across the southern border. I will build a wall. It will be a
great wall. People will not come in unless they come in legally. Drugs will not pour through that wall," Trump said.
"As far as other people like in the migration, where they're going, tens of thousands of people having cell phones with ISIS flags on them? I don't think so. They're not coming
to this country. And if I'm president and if Obama has brought some to this country, they are leaving. They're going. They're gone," 69-year-old Trump asserted.
"America is at war. Our enemy is not violent extremism. It is not some unnamed malevolent force. It is radical Islamic terrorist. We have a president who is unwilling to utter its
name," Cruz said.
"The war that we are fighting now against radical Islamist jihadists is one that we must win. Our very existence is dependent upon that," said Ben Carson, one of the leading
Republican presidential candidates.
