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Posted by Fiona in Trump War on Muslims on February 8th, 2017
February 01, 2017
President Donald Trump is getting ready to plunge into the burning Mideast with all the zeal and arrogance of a medieval crusader. The new administration’s knowledge of the region is a thousand miles wide and two inches deep.
Reviving a truly terrible idea originated by know-nothing Congressional Republicans, Trump proposes US-run safe zones in Syria for refugees from that nation’s conflict. The president went out of his way to insist that such safe zones would spare the United States from having to shelter Syrian refugees.
He should better worry about Chicago where 762 citizens were murdered last year.
At the same time, Trump, declaiming from his new Mount Olympus of New York’s Trump Tower, vowed to impose a 30-day halt on immigrants from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen to ‘protect the American people from terrorist attacks by foreign nationals.’
One wonders if any of Trump’s Praetorian Guard noticed that all these listed ‘terrorist’ nations have been attacked by the United States or seen their governments overthrown by Uncle Sam. I’m surprised Afghanistan and Pakistan were left off the list. Their time will likely come soon. Is it any wonder that all of these Muslim nations bear a serious grudge against the United States? The angriest group is ISIS, who are seeking revenge for the destruction of Iraq.
Former President Barack Obama shied away from direct military intervention in Syria, preferring stealthy warfare, drones and hit squads. He had the sense to know that US military intervention in the heart of the Mideast would be fraught with danger, not the least clashes between US and Russian forces. History shows it’s easy to invade into unstable areas but hard to get out.
But not so for bull in the Mideast china shop Trump as he charges into the Levant, advised by generals who made a mess in Syria, Afghanistan, and Iraq. Trump’s ardently pro-Israel cabinet must be rubbing their hands in glee as they see Syria in his cross hairs. The destruction of Syria’s regime and fragmenting that nation is an Israeli strategic priority.
One wishes Trump would stop for a moment and reflect. There are 11 million Syrian refugees in Syria and neighboring states. They are the result of a civil war engineered by Washington, Turkey, the Emirates and Saudi Arabia, with France and Britain playing a supporting role. Western money, arms, and supplies have fuelled the six-year-old conflict whose aim was to overthrow Syria’s Assad government because he is an ally of Iran.
The US and France did exactly the same thing in Libya, overthrowing its leader, Muammar Khadaffi, and murdering him – thank you, Hillary Clinton. The US invaded and destroyed Iraq, tore apart Somalia and neighboring Sudan, and is now providing warplanes, bombs and mercenary advisors that Saudi Arabia – the patron of the jihadi forces in Syria – is using to crush little Yemen.
The largest number of Mideast refugees are now in Syria, thank you Uncle Sam, and its neighbors, Jordan and Lebanon. The second biggest group are the 5.2 million Palestinian refugees scattered across the Levant. Iraq is awash with internal refugees, thank you George W. Bush. Add now a couple of million refugees from strife-torn South Sudan, a new failed nation created by blundering US Mideast policy as a way of punishing disobedient Sudan, thank Bush and Obama.
At the same time, Washington must avoid any and all risk of military clashes in Syria with Russia. We can’t keep huffing and puffing that Moscow has no business in Syria when it’s as close to southern Russia as northern Mexico is to Texas. The US has troops and bases across the globe, most lately in Africa. Who are we to tell Russia to get out of Syria?
Just when it seemed that the Syrian conflict was beginning to simmer down, Trump’s intervention will be certain to heat up the conflict and undermine potential peace agreements. In case there are still Muslims who believed the US is their friend, as was the case fifty years ago, they will now understand that America is their enemy thanks to Trump’s ham-handed, ‘no Muslims’ policies.
Muslims account for 23% of the world’s population and will surpass Christians in about four decades. Besides riling up the Chinese, is it really wise to antagonize and insult members of Islam, the world’s fast-growing religion? And single out Muslims as most likely to face torture? Bad idea.
Eric S. Margolis is an award-winning, internationally syndicated columnist. His articles have appeared in the New York Times, the International Herald Tribune the Los Angeles Times, Times of London, the Gulf Times, the Khaleej Times, Nation – Pakistan, Hurriyet, – Turkey, Sun-Times Malaysia and other news sites in Asia. EricMargolis.com
Posted by admin in Islamophobia in America, Ummah on January 1st, 2017
Did you see how politicians threw Muslims under the bus yet again?
Yesterday, Democrats staged a dramatic 16-hour sit-in on the House floor, following last week’s Senate 15-hour filibuster to force Republicans to vote on gun control. In the wake of the Orlando shooting which claimed 49 lives, it is refreshing to see lawmakers finally addressing the gun violence epidemic in the U.S. If only that were the case!
Unfortunately, the Democratic proposal fails to address the realities of gun violence and instead expands Islamophobic “War on Terror” policies that disproportionately target Arab and Muslim Americans. After four gun control bills died on the Senate floor last week—which called for sensible measures such as requiring individual background checks on all gun sales —the current bill House Democrats are fighting for bans assault weapon sales to individuals placed on the No Fly List which is almost exclusively Muslim.1
Rather than admitting they’re too weak to take on the NRA, politicians have once again scapegoated Muslims to score political points because they think they are too weak to push back. At United Voices, we’re working to change that.
This Ramadan, CAN WE COUNT ON YOU to make a Zakat-eligible donation to HELP US PUSH-BACK AGAINST anti-Muslim legislation and other efforts to marginalize our communities? CLICK TO DONATE.
Despite our knowledge of Omar Mateen’s background, elements of the media and government continue to focus on his Muslim identity and alleged ISIS affiliation—for which there has been no proven link.Politicians are now throwing around vague terms such as “potential terrorists,” a euphemism for Muslims, to whom gun sales must be blocked — despite that majority of mass shootings are carried out by White perpetrators.
According to the ACLU2, the danger of the “No Fly, No Buy” proposal lies in the unconstitutionality of the No Fly List—a complete civil rights disaster. This policy allows the government to place Americans “who have never been charged let alone convicted of a crime” on a no-fly blacklist based on an unidentified threat “which may or may not occur.” Currently, close to 800,000 people have been placed on this error-prone list–most of whom are Muslim–which lacks due process and/or recourse to challenge one’s designation.3
Once again, lawmakers are throwing Muslim Americans under the bus because they know our communities are vulnerable and think we won’t fight back.
This blessed month, will you donate $500, $250, $100 or any other amount to help us stand up for ourselves and push-back against political scapegoating? Every dollar helps and donations are zakat-eligible.
To donate visit: http://unitedvoices.com/ramadan
Donations are tax-deductible, our tax id is 26-3167994
If you prefer to mail a check, please make it payable to “United Voices and send it to 1775 Eye Street NW, Suite 1150, Washington, DC 20006.
Let’s work together to demand that our elected officials actually fight for the victims, take on the gun lobby, and advocate for genuine reform instead of fueling the further backlash against Muslims.
Thanks so much for your continued support.
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