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Republican Steve King suggests Muslim children are stopping ‘our civilisation’ being restored

It is not the first time the 67-year-old has made inflammatory remarks

Andrew Buncombe
New York
Sunday 12 March 2017 17:54 EDT
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Mr Wilders (left) travelled to Washington at the invitation of Mr King (c) to discuss Islam in 2015
Mr Wilders (left) travelled to Washington at the invitation of Mr King (c) to discuss Islam in 2015 (Getty)

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A Republican congressman has sparked outcry after making a seemingly racist comment and retweeting a comment about far-right Dutch politician politician Geert Wilders.

Steve King suggested that immigration involving Muslim children was somehow stopping America’s from being “restored”

Retweeting a message endorsing the anti-Islamic views of Mr Wilders, a candidate in the Dutch election, Mr King Wrote: “Wilders understands that culture and demographics are our destiny. We can't restore our civilisation with somebody else’s babies.”

Mr King’s own tweet was itself retweeted by former Ku Klux Klan imperial wizard, David Duke.

The 67-year-old Mr King has been representing Iowa in the US House of Representatives in 2003 and is known for comments that are frequently inflammatory.

Dutch Right Wing Politician Geert Wilders Rails Against Islam and Endorses Trump

During the 2016 election campaign, Mr King, a supporter of Donald Trump, said white people had contributed more to civilisation than any other “subgroup”.

The post that Mr King retweeted on Sunday showed a image of Mr Wilders plugging a hole in a wall labelled “Western Civilization” as protesters with beards behind him hold signs that say, “Infidels, Know Your Limits” and “Freedom of Speech Go To Hell”.

Mr Wilders, who met last year with Mr King and who travelled to Washington in 2015 at Mr King's invitation to discuss Islam, is among a number of politicians in Europe who have sparked controversy with their views on race and culture.

Last month, he referred to some immigrants from Morocco as “scum,” while pledging to “make the Netherlands ours again”.

His Freedom Party has made significant gains in the Netherlands over the past few years.

It is one of many nationalist groups in Europe to have surged. One recent poll suggested his party was currently in second place.

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