Mixed Reactions From Muslims In America To Trump’s Anti-Immigration Actions

Many organizations and groups have protested U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to sign an executive order on Friday, temporarily barring immigrants (from seven Muslim countries) and refugees from entering the country. President Trump said that this particular order was designed to prohibit radical terrorists from entering the United States. But the decision also consequently puts a temporary blanket ban for any refugee trying to enter the United States of America. And while many groups have condemned the President’s decision, the Muslim community in the United States have mixed reactions to the decision.

Mudaser Jaura, a Pakistani born immigrant who has been living in Virginia for the past 14 years, calls Trump’s decision on refugees “sad.”

“It’s bad for humanity. (Trump) is giving a message to the world that we don’t care about refugees. Who are refugees? We need to think about that. They are people who are homeless, and starving, dying. They need shelter. He needs to show a big heart. America can be great again, you know? How? If you stop bombing other nations.”

Ali Bashir, an immigrant who came to the U.S. from Sudan, believes that Trump’s latest decision will hurt the Muslim community specifically.

“I’m Sudanese, I’m Muslim, I’m an immigrant, I’m black. Of course it’s a bad thing. The way he’s talking and whatever statements that he’s making, it’s hurting the Muslim — especially the community of Muslims. We’re not hurting nobody here, we’re just trying to make a living like everybody else.”

But not all Muslims disagree with the President’s decision. Azza Ahmed from New Jersey considers the president’s decision a positive move.

“Sometimes I agree with him, because there’s a lot of people that come here and do a lot of damages. And I think it’s better to limit the number of people that come in the country, or to screen them even better.”

Azza says that not everyone is bad but all Muslim Americans shouldn’t have to pay for the mistakes done by those few Terrorists.

Tariq Ali, born in Pakistan, has been living in the United States for over 20 years. Ali, an accountant by profession, also considers the president’s decision as a positive move.

“For the safety and security of our lives — you think terrorists from the Middle East will spare me because I’m Muslim? I don’t think so. What happened in New York at the time of 9/11? Muslims died, Christians died, Jews died.”

Another vocal critic of the President’s decision to bar Muslim immigrants has been former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. Albright came to the U.S. with her family as a refugee from Czechoslovakia in 1948, fleeing persecution by the Communist government. She pointed out that “by specifically targeting Muslim-majority countries for these immigration bans, and by expressing a clear preference for refugees who are religious minorities,” there was no question that Trump’s order was biased against Muslims.

“And when one faith is targeted, it puts us all at risk.”

Trump signed the decision to indefinitely bar all Syrian refugees from entering the U.S. He also put a 120-day bar on refugees from Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. No visa will be issued to citizens of these Muslim-majority countries for the next 30 days. Trump called this decision “a measure to keep radical Islamic terrorists out of America,” explicitly specifying, “We don’t want them here.” Trump payed homage to the victims of the 9/11 attacks, dedicating this decision to them.

“We don’t want to admit the very threats our soldiers are fighting overseas. We only want to admit those that support our country and love, deeply, our people.”

President Trump also signed an executive order on Friday for rebuilding the military, according to Trump, “to build new planes, new ships, tools and resources.” Trump justified his decision with the following statement.

“As we prepare our budget request for Congress, our military strength will be questioned by no one and neither will our dedication to peace. And we do want peace.”

[Featured Image by Top Vector Studio/Shutterstock]