Why Carson’s stance on Islam gave him a poll bump

Dr. Ben Carson is doing something right. He was only 1 percentage point behind Donald Trump among Republican voters, according to a Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll released Sunday, while Hillary Rodham Clinton’s lead over her Democratic rivals is shrinking.

Some readers were appalled about my column last week, in which I failed to slam Carson, the GOP presidential contender, for declaring that he would not support electing a Muslim president.

“So, Andrea, are you OK with a bigoted America?’’ Ken Rothstein of Manhattan asked me via email. “Ben Carson is a maniac . . . Shame on this country!’’

But many agreed with the retired pediatric neurosurgeon. Christopher Martin of Orange County, NY, pointed to a recent Center for Security Policy poll that found that 51 percent of Muslims in America think they should be able to choose to be governed by Sharia law — and nearly 25 percent think it’s OK to use violence to punish those who offend Islam by, say, portraying the prophet Mohammed.

“Sharia law advocates female genital mutilation, death by stoning for women speaking to men (not their husbands) in public, and throwing homosexuals off rooftops,’’ he wrote.

Carson has exposed a dirty, little secret: Many among us aren’t ready for a commander in chief of the Islamic faith.