Minnesota Boy Takes Ben Carson To Task For Muslim Comment

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. (AP) — A Minnesota boy is getting some attention for posting a YouTube response to Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson, who said he couldn't support a Muslim as president of the United States.

The suburban Twin Cities middle school student, Yusuf Dayur, said he wants Carson to know that he's 12, Muslim and planned on becoming president — but that Carson nearly shattered his dream with his recent political comment.

"My name is Yusuf Dayur," he says in his online posting. "And guess what, I don't care what you say, because I will become president."

Yusuf told Carson in the online video that people of all faiths and races should have the opportunity to become president. Yusuf said he has wanted to become the nation's leader since he was in preschool.

"What if someone told you that you can't become president because of your race? What if someone told you, you can't become president because of your faith? And that's what you did to me," Dayur says in the video.

Dayur ends his video message by telling Carson that when he is president, he will respect people of all faiths.

Dayur's mother, Shukri Abukar, told Minnesota Public Radio News that her son likes to watch news and videos from YouTube. She said her son, who is Somali-American, follows presidential campaigns and even Somali politics.

"I push him to do that," she said. "If that's his dream, I help him along. I want my son to achieve that dream."

In a recent interview on NBC, Carson, who is black, said he didn't believe that Islam was consistent with the U.S. Constitution.

(© Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)