When U.S. Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., made the comments that there are “too many mosques in this country,” he was immediately repudiated by many groups, including the Democratic National Committee.

But no one was more offended than Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn. As the first Muslim in Congress, Ellison called the remarks “insulting.”

King’s remark, Ellison said, “cuts into the basis of the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees all Americans freedom of their religion,” according to an interview with Arab News.

A spokesman for Ellison directed Minnesota Monitor to that interview for reaction.

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King is the ranking Republican in the House Homeland Security Committee. He made the statement during an interview with the website politico.com.

“There are too many people sympathetic to radical Islam,” King said. “We should be looking at them more carefully and finding out how we can infiltrate them.”

King also serves as the national security advisor to Republican presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani. The campaign declined to comment, but Giuliani told the news media that he understands where King is coming from.

The DNC slammed King and urged Giuliani to fire him.

“Congressman King’s comments are deplorable and he should apologize immediately. This type of bigoted language has no place in public discourse,” the DNC said in a statement.

Also repudiating King is the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR. “We call on Republican leaders and other people of conscience to repudiate Representative King’s bigoted remarks and to support the civil and religious rights of all Americans,” said Corey Saylor, national legislative director. “We also urge Rudy Giuliani to send a clear message that he will not tolerate Islamophobia or other types of fear-mongering by dropping King…from his campaign.”

Despite the mounting pressure, King refused to apologize. In a press statement, he said that he stands by everything he said, and that he meant to say that there are not enough leaders in the Muslim community cooperating with law enforcement agencies.

But to Ellison, King’s remarks undermine the national security and serve as a recruiting tool for terrorists.

“While we have some people in Congress who make offensive comments, it is important for us, as Muslims, to lift the level of debate, and demonstrate the true character of Islam,” Ellison was quoted as saying.