Democrat U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico said in a recent interview that he has been influenced by Islamic mystics as much as he has been influenced by Christian authors. He also quoted a 13th-century Islamic mystic as saying, “In every religion there is love, yet love has no religion.” In a separate interview, Talarico described himself as a “Christian who hates Christianity.” “I always think of myself as a Christian who hates Christianity, right?” “The reason I think Christianity can be powerful in our context in this country is because so many of our political opponents share that kind of, that tradition,” he said.