Donald John Trump is making news all over the world for his comments about Muslims. He said visas should not be issued to Muslims till a system is in place. He said some mosques should be under surveillance and there should be detention centres for Muslims. In London and Paris there are areas inhabited by Muslims where policemen fear to go. His statements were in the context of San Bernardino shooting on 2/12/2015 by married couple Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik.
Scotland said Trump will not be its business ambassador. Trump products were taken off shelves in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and UAE. One university withdrew his doctorate. I did not know that university existed. Time nominated Angela Merkel as Person of the Year. Trump said he knew Time will not nominate him and they nominated someone for ruining Germany. Boris Johnson contradicted Trump. There was a petition in UK not to grant visa to Trump. UKIP supported Trump. David Cameron and French PM Dominic Valls opposed Trump.
Trump’s Republican rivals and many others condemned his statements. Some of them have just 1% votes in polls. There was wide publicity for such statements. Some people said something in support of Trump. Those statements did not get much publicity.
After the San Bernardino attack where a couple of Pakistani origin killed 14 persons and wounded many more, many welcome Trump’s statements. Trump is not politically correct. He says political correctness has gone too far. He wants to say things as they are. His supporters are glad. He leads in the polls.
Trump has justified his proposals by pointing such things have been done by former presidents. Franklin Roosevelt had put Japanese, German and Italian residents in USA in detention camps. Dwight Eisenhower had deported officially a million Mexicans. People said “I like Ike.” Ike was Eisenhower’s pet name. James Carter stopped issuing visas to Iranians.
Ever since Trump announced his candidature for Republican Presidential nominee he has dominated news except when there were terrorist attacks or some great events. At first his candidature was seen with amusement. Soon he ranked second in numbers. After that he has been first most time. Three of his rivals left the race: Rick Perry, Scott Walker, and Bobby Jindal. Other candidates have moved up and down. For long Ben Carson was close in numbers. Now Ted Cruz or Marco Rubio are close to him.
Trump said San Bernardino terrorists were animals. He was wrong. Comparing terrorists to animals is an insult to animals.
Someone said Trump rides on fear of Muslims and also adds to it. A survey conducted about Muslims showed most Americans agree with Trump. Trump knows the mind of the majority.
India has been a victim of cross-border terrorism of Pakistan. Occasionally USA is a target or victim of Pakistani terrorism. Times Square bomber was a Pakistani. Pakistanis were involved in World Trade Center attack that took place some years before 9/11. The attack mostly failed.
Boston bombers were Muslims who came from Dagestan. Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan was a son of Palestinian immigrants and psychiatrist in US army.
Some Muslims have a grouse that mass shootings by white male Christians are not referred to as terrorist acts but such acts by Muslims are referred to as terrorist acts. They have a point. They also resent calling San Bernardino shooting as the greatest act after 9/11 as there were many acts where more than 14 people had died.
Trump has supported Binyamin Netanyahu in Israel’s elections. He was to visit Israel on 28 December and meet Netanyahu. Netanyahu said “The State of Israel respects all religions and strictly guarantees the rights of its citizens. At the same time, Israel is fighting against militant Islam that targets Muslims, Christians and Jews alike and threatens the entire world.” He said he meets all presidential candidates who come to Israel and meeting does not meet endorsement. Israel does not fight ISIS. It assists ISIS against Syria. Trump said he will visit Israel at a later date after he became president of USA. Trump should be careful about Netanyahu’s bitch Kaiya which bit Sharren Haskel and Or Alon at Hanukka dinner.
India’s Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar was in Washington to Meet American Defence Secretary Ashton Carter. He was asked about Trump’s comments. He said “I will not comment on what has been talked about in the US, but as far as India is concerned, we have the second largest Muslim population in the world and we gel well.” Not long ago intolerance was a topic in India and many had returned their awards.
Sikhs in USA suffer collateral damage when there are hate crimes against Muslims. Many Americans cannot distinguish between Sikhs and Muslims. Sikh men wear turbans and keep beard. They resemble Arab Muslims who wear turbans and keep beard and have carried out terrorist acts. Gurudwaras are mistaken for mosques. Sikhs come under attack for what they are not.
I cannot agree with you more on this sensitive issue. Well written analysis on the absurd comment and to think that he does real estate business in the Muslim world makes it more ironical!