Muslim community decries Trump travel ban
CHICAGo: American Muslim leaders decried Donald Trump’s rhetoric towards their community and predicted the president’s travel ban would eventually be proven unlawful, a day after a weakened version of the measure came into force.
A limited version of Trump’s tra– vel ban – temporarily barring refugees and visitors from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen -– took effect on Thursday, after the US Supreme Court allowed it to be enforced pending a full hearing in October.
The Trump administration says the ban is necessary to keep terrorists out of the country, but immigrant advocates charge that it illegally singles out Muslims – in line with campaign pledges by Trump to bar all Muslims from the country.
Leaders of the Islamic Society of North America (Isna), which claims to be the largest Muslim advocacy group on the continent, slammed the ban as they gathered for a weekend convention in Chicago.
“His statements and his rhetoric have caused a great amount of harm to the American Muslim community,” said Azhar Azeez, president of Isna, which believes the ban will ultimately be proven unconstitutional.
“This country has always been an inclusive nation, a tolerant nation,” Azeez said, “and we as Americans have an obligation to make sure we uphold all these things”.
Convention attendee Arishaa Khan said even those who are not directly affected by the ban – because they are not from the six targeted countries – are nevertheless affected by its broader implications.
“This ban has been tumultuous,” the 27-year-old American citizen from Pakistan said, adding that she sees friends and family “posting on Facebook before they go on international flights, asking for lawyers to be on standby”.