On Friday, President Donald Trump waged war on Islam when he banned the admission of refugees, immigrants and visitors from seven specific Mideast countries to the United States. It’s a message of hate, and worse, fear. People who are insecure throw up walls. Vilifying Muslims as possible terrorist is an insult to not only their faith but to our reputation of being a country that recognizes and welcomes those of different ethnicities and religions.
Trump’s move plays right into the hands of jihadists who have convinced wannabe martyrs that the Western World is out to eradicate Islam. By placing an entire religion under suspicion Trump only proves the terrorists’ point.
The executive order — his 17th in one week — is especially punitive to those trying to flee war-torn Syria. Trump’s edict indefinitely suspends all Syrian refugees who have been approved to resettle in the United States from doing so.
The irony is not lost that the order came at the conclusion of the daylong anti-abortion march in Washington, D.C. This administration is all too keen to align with the “sanctity of life” movement except when it applies to the men, women and children whose very existence depends on our grace today, at this very moment.
The order is also rife with hypocrisy. First, it bases its justification on the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on U.S. soil, but then omits any of those countries from the ban. Of those 19 terrorists on that horrific day, 15 were from Saudi Arabia, two from the United Arab Emirates, one from Egypt and one from Lebanon. The travel ban also did not include Muslim countries that have done business with Trump.
Of the seven countries targeted — Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen — not one has sponsored refugees, those seeking asylum or wishing to immigrate who have committed acts of terror in the United States.
AS OF this morning, 15 Republicans have rebuked Trump’s order, sadly, none from Kansas, and a global backlash has begun.
The longer we remain silent, the more emboldened Trump will become.
This world, this country, is big enough for all faiths to call home. Pitting one against the other is a recipe for disaster.
— Susan Lynn
