Hillary Clinton. (photo: Reuters)
10 December 15
And a message to Muslims.
onald
Trump has made a name for himself in this election by trafficking in
prejudice and paranoia. Now he says he wants to stop all Muslims from
entering the United States. It’s a shameful idea. It’s also dangerous.
At a time when America should be doing everything we can to fight
radical jihadists, Mr. Trump is supplying them with new propaganda. He’s
playing right into their hands.
Now some Republican candidates are saying that Donald
Trump’s latest comments have gone too far. But the truth is, many GOP
candidates have also said extreme things about Muslims. Their language
may be more veiled than Mr. Trump’s, but their ideas aren’t so
different.
Ben Carson says that a Muslim shouldn’t be president. Marco Rubio compares Muslims to members of the Nazi Party and refuses to rule out monitoring and closing of mosques. Jeb Bush and Ted Cruz have suggested that we implement a religious test
for Syrian refugees—one that only Christians would pass. Chris Christie
says not even 3-year-old Syrian orphans should be let in. And they
insist on using the phrase “radical Islamic terrorism”—in fact, they
criticize anyone who says anything else—even though it drives the exact
narrative the jihadists want to advance: that we’re at war with an
entire religion.
When you take a step back and see what the Republican
field as a whole says about Muslims—not just one or two candidates for
President, but nearly all of them—it’s hard to take seriously their
attempts to distance themselves from Mr. Trump. He’s just articulating
the logical conclusion of what the rest of them have been saying. As Mr.
Trump said in an interview this morning, “They condemn practically
everything I say, and then they always come to my side.”
That should concern all of us. This kind of rhetoric
sets us back in the fight against radical jihadists—a fight we
absolutely have to win, against a brutal, nihilistic enemy who twists
Islam to justify mass murder. These jihadists cannot be contained; they
have to be defeated. And the vast majority of Muslims here and abroad
are on our side in this fight. Many are helping prevent radicalization,
including here at home. So why would anyone suggest that they’re the
enemy? How does that help us? Radical jihadists are telling people that
the United States hates Muslims—and there’s Donald Trump on TV screaming
about how he’s going to keep all Muslims out. He’s strengthening the
terrorists’ argument.
He’s also taking aim at our values. Our country was
founded by people fleeing religious persecution. The notion that here,
people are free to practice their faith, whatever it is, is one of
America’s most cherished principles. Maybe Mr. Trump should re-read
President Washington’s 1790 letter to the Jewish community of Newport,
Rhode Island, reassuring them that, in the brand-new nation of the
United States, their religious liberty would always be protected. He
wrote, “The Government of the United States gives to bigotry no
sanction, to persecution no assistance.” In other words, you can be
you, and still be with us.
That’s something I’ll bet a lot of Muslim Americans
need to hear right now. Imagine hearing political leaders threaten to
register and track you, implying that your religion is violent, that
you’re violent, that you’re the enemy. Nearly 3 million Americans are
Muslims. They’re our family, our friends, our neighbors, and co-workers.
They serve in the military, save lives as doctors and nurses, and serve
our communities as police officers, firefighters, teachers, and civic
leaders. They’re patriots—proud Americans, just like the rest of us.
They deserve better than this.
So today, I want to send a different message.
To Muslim Americans: What you’re hearing from Trump
and other Republicans is absolutely, unequivocally wrong. It’s
inconsistent with our values as a nation—a nation which you are helping
to build. This is your country, too. I’m proud to be your fellow
American. And many, many other Americans feel the same way.
Now is the time for all of us—especially Republican leaders—to stand up to hateful, dangerous words and deeds.
Just a few days ago, two young women
wearing headscarves were trying to have breakfast at a café near the
University of Texas at Austin when another diner started shouting racist
things at them. The girls left in tears—in part because of the ugly
words, but also because no one else in that crowded café came to their
defense.
As they left, one of the girls asked the room, “Who
cares about us?” Somebody called out, “Nobody.” “We left,” they said,
“because it was true.”
But it’s not true. And we have to make sure Muslim
Americans know that. It’s how we stay true to our values as Americans.
And it’s how we show the world who we really are—a strong, proud, united
country that still knows, after all these years, that all men and women
are created equal.
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