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THE BLOG
A Letter From ISIS to Donald Trump
12/14/2015 12:48 pm ET
|
Updated
Dec 18, 2015
1.4 K
Paul Vernon/AP
"Dear Donald Trump, leading candidate for the Republican nomination:
Thank you for your cooperation, we sincerely hope it continues.
You, and what you represent, make our job so much easier, and truly
make our quest for war without end between Islam and the West a
reality."
***
The above is how I imagine the Islamic State's leadership (Da'esh or
ISIS) responded to Donald Trump's latest remarks calling for a ban upon
all Muslims' entry to the United States. Little more than unadulterated
racist hatred, Trump's anti-Muslim diatribe must have greatly pleased
ISIS's delusional leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
Billionaire Trump announced his pledge to prevent all Muslims from
entering the United States only a few short days after terror attacks
waged by an American-born Muslim and his Pakistani wife in San
Bernardino, CA. Trump, who styles himself as an expert of public
opinion, justified his proposal on the grounds that, as a matter of
religious principle, all Muslims hate Americans.
Trump's remarks were so outlandish that fellow Republican
presidential candidates, as well as senior party leaders felt, compelled
to condemn them, stating that Trump's invectives contravened both
American and GOP values. As of yet, Trump has neither rescinded nor
apologized for his comments; if anything, he has only become more
consistent in his vitriol. Though Trump clearly does not represent every
American, his remarks have placed millions of American Muslims in
danger, engendering hatred and stoking the flames of Islamophobia.
Since its foundation nearly two hundred and fifty years ago, Muslims
have played a crucial role in American society. Originally arriving as
African slaves, Muslims have consistently immigrated to the United
States since the end of the Civil War. Today, Muslims work in such
prominent industries as diverse as film, literature, sports, and space;
thousands even serve in America's armed forces. Though the US Government
does not account for religion when conducting its census, independent
analysis estimate close to 7 million Muslims reside in the United
States. There are about 3000 mosques spread across all 50 states.
Furthermore, most American Muslims enjoy a higher standard of living
than the norm, with 66% earning more than the United States $50K median
household average yearly income. Unlike their counterparts throughout
Europe, American Muslims do not live in poor, isolated, and ghettoized
neighborhoods; instead, Muslims in the US reside wherever they desire,
in the exact same areas as their Christian, Jewish, or Hindu neighbors.
Though few are politically active at the national level, two members of
the House of Representatives are Muslim, Keith Ellison (D - MN) and
Andre Carson (D - IN).
One day before Trump announced his xenophobic proposal, President
Obama addressed the nation from the Oval Office about his strategy for
confronting terror and defeating Da'esh, enlisting Muslims in the fight
against Islamic extremism. During his address, Obama categorically
rejected the notion that Muslims should be treated differently than
other American, noting that "American Muslims [have long been] and are
prepared to fight and die for their country." Despite Obama's repeated
assurances that terrorists do not represent Islam or Muslims, as well as
has continued to refusal to refer to Da'esh as "Islamic" so as to deny
it any semblance of the religious legitimacy it so desperately craves,
Trump's remarks were considered more important and more meaningful.
Trump's provocative sound bite proved far more resonant than Obama's
conciliatory speech for a variety of reasons, chief among them the fact
that Trump's message of religious intolerance echoes ISIS' strategic
goals of initiating a sustained conflict with "Western nonbelievers,"
most notably the US. Da'esh will exploit Trump's foolhardy remarks to
deepen the divide between Muslims and the US and recruit more
disaffected youths to its ranks, just as it did when criticizing
America's hypocritical response to the Syrian refugee crisis; Trump's
statements legitimizing hatred and causing more instances of anti-Muslim
violence and harassment will only lead to similar results.
Lest Trump's recent statements be dismissed as an inarticulate slip
of the tongue, we should remember that his campaign has been chock full
of diatribes against nearly every other minority group, regularly
insulting women, Mexicans, the poor, and the disabled. As of this
writing, Trump remains the frontrunner for the Republican nomination,
garnering at least 30% of the vote in recent polls of likely voters in
the Republican primary. Most troublingly, Trump's proposal to ban all
Muslims from entering the US does not seem all that dissonant with views
of the American public; recent opinion polls conducted over the past
several weeks indicated that 37% of Americans view Islam negatively and
28% of American's believe Islam is a religion that promotes violence.
Despite the fact that the US is by far the most religious society in
the West, its constitution is purely secular, as is its executive
branch, legislature, and judiciary. In fact, the words "God" and
"Christianity" never appear in the entire document, even more than 70%
of Americans identify as Christian. The constitution only discusses
religion as it pertains to the First Amendment's prohibition upon
religious-based discrimination as well as its decree that Congress may
make no law based in nor impugning upon religion, in addition to that,
no religious test may be administered to anyone seeking federal
employment. Accordingly, because the president is legally obligated to
"preserve, protect, and defend," the Constitution, the White House
asserted that Trump's anti-Muslim comments "disqualify" him from seeking
the Presidency.
When political theorist Samuel P. Huntington published his seminal
work, "the Clash of Civilizations" in 1993, it was met with nearly
universal derision. Years after his death in 2008, the Clash of
Civilizations remains highly controversial for how it depicts relations
between the Muslim world and the West. Today, Da'esh and other
like-minded terrorist groups, as well as hateful individuals like Donald
Trump, give credence to Huntington's contentious and conflict-provoking
theories long since discredited my mainstream thinkers and politicians.
In sum, ISIS' letter to Trump could only conclude as follows:
"Dear Trump, we wish you all the best.
We sincerely hope that you become the next President of the United States in order to strengthen our shared ties.
Happy Holidays,
ISIS"
*Mohamed Elmenshawy is Washington Bureau Chief for Alaraby Television Network, and a columnist for the Egyptian Daily Alshorouk.
Follow Mohamed Elmenshawy on Twitter:
www.twitter.com/ElmenshawyM
MORE:
Barack Obama,
Islamic State,
Terrorism,
Donald Trump
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Front Page
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What's Working
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WorldPost
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HuffPost Live
All Sections
THE BLOG
A Letter From ISIS to Donald Trump
12/14/2015 12:48 pm ET
|
Updated
Dec 18, 2015
1.4 K
Paul Vernon/AP
"Dear Donald Trump, leading candidate for the Republican nomination:
Thank you for your cooperation, we sincerely hope it continues.
You, and what you represent, make our job so much easier, and truly
make our quest for war without end between Islam and the West a
reality."
***
The above is how I imagine the Islamic State's leadership (Da'esh or
ISIS) responded to Donald Trump's latest remarks calling for a ban upon
all Muslims' entry to the United States. Little more than unadulterated
racist hatred, Trump's anti-Muslim diatribe must have greatly pleased
ISIS's delusional leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
Billionaire Trump announced his pledge to prevent all Muslims from
entering the United States only a few short days after terror attacks
waged by an American-born Muslim and his Pakistani wife in San
Bernardino, CA. Trump, who styles himself as an expert of public
opinion, justified his proposal on the grounds that, as a matter of
religious principle, all Muslims hate Americans.
Trump's remarks were so outlandish that fellow Republican
presidential candidates, as well as senior party leaders felt, compelled
to condemn them, stating that Trump's invectives contravened both
American and GOP values. As of yet, Trump has neither rescinded nor
apologized for his comments; if anything, he has only become more
consistent in his vitriol. Though Trump clearly does not represent every
American, his remarks have placed millions of American Muslims in
danger, engendering hatred and stoking the flames of Islamophobia.
Since its foundation nearly two hundred and fifty years ago, Muslims
have played a crucial role in American society. Originally arriving as
African slaves, Muslims have consistently immigrated to the United
States since the end of the Civil War. Today, Muslims work in such
prominent industries as diverse as film, literature, sports, and space;
thousands even serve in America's armed forces. Though the US Government
does not account for religion when conducting its census, independent
analysis estimate close to 7 million Muslims reside in the United
States. There are about 3000 mosques spread across all 50 states.
Furthermore, most American Muslims enjoy a higher standard of living
than the norm, with 66% earning more than the United States $50K median
household average yearly income. Unlike their counterparts throughout
Europe, American Muslims do not live in poor, isolated, and ghettoized
neighborhoods; instead, Muslims in the US reside wherever they desire,
in the exact same areas as their Christian, Jewish, or Hindu neighbors.
Though few are politically active at the national level, two members of
the House of Representatives are Muslim, Keith Ellison (D - MN) and
Andre Carson (D - IN).
One day before Trump announced his xenophobic proposal, President
Obama addressed the nation from the Oval Office about his strategy for
confronting terror and defeating Da'esh, enlisting Muslims in the fight
against Islamic extremism. During his address, Obama categorically
rejected the notion that Muslims should be treated differently than
other American, noting that "American Muslims [have long been] and are
prepared to fight and die for their country." Despite Obama's repeated
assurances that terrorists do not represent Islam or Muslims, as well as
has continued to refusal to refer to Da'esh as "Islamic" so as to deny
it any semblance of the religious legitimacy it so desperately craves,
Trump's remarks were considered more important and more meaningful.
Trump's provocative sound bite proved far more resonant than Obama's
conciliatory speech for a variety of reasons, chief among them the fact
that Trump's message of religious intolerance echoes ISIS' strategic
goals of initiating a sustained conflict with "Western nonbelievers,"
most notably the US. Da'esh will exploit Trump's foolhardy remarks to
deepen the divide between Muslims and the US and recruit more
disaffected youths to its ranks, just as it did when criticizing
America's hypocritical response to the Syrian refugee crisis; Trump's
statements legitimizing hatred and causing more instances of anti-Muslim
violence and harassment will only lead to similar results.
Lest Trump's recent statements be dismissed as an inarticulate slip
of the tongue, we should remember that his campaign has been chock full
of diatribes against nearly every other minority group, regularly
insulting women, Mexicans, the poor, and the disabled. As of this
writing, Trump remains the frontrunner for the Republican nomination,
garnering at least 30% of the vote in recent polls of likely voters in
the Republican primary. Most troublingly, Trump's proposal to ban all
Muslims from entering the US does not seem all that dissonant with views
of the American public; recent opinion polls conducted over the past
several weeks indicated that 37% of Americans view Islam negatively and
28% of American's believe Islam is a religion that promotes violence.
Despite the fact that the US is by far the most religious society in
the West, its constitution is purely secular, as is its executive
branch, legislature, and judiciary. In fact, the words "God" and
"Christianity" never appear in the entire document, even more than 70%
of Americans identify as Christian. The constitution only discusses
religion as it pertains to the First Amendment's prohibition upon
religious-based discrimination as well as its decree that Congress may
make no law based in nor impugning upon religion, in addition to that,
no religious test may be administered to anyone seeking federal
employment. Accordingly, because the president is legally obligated to
"preserve, protect, and defend," the Constitution, the White House
asserted that Trump's anti-Muslim comments "disqualify" him from seeking
the Presidency.
When political theorist Samuel P. Huntington published his seminal
work, "the Clash of Civilizations" in 1993, it was met with nearly
universal derision. Years after his death in 2008, the Clash of
Civilizations remains highly controversial for how it depicts relations
between the Muslim world and the West. Today, Da'esh and other
like-minded terrorist groups, as well as hateful individuals like Donald
Trump, give credence to Huntington's contentious and conflict-provoking
theories long since discredited my mainstream thinkers and politicians.
In sum, ISIS' letter to Trump could only conclude as follows:
"Dear Trump, we wish you all the best.
We sincerely hope that you become the next President of the United States in order to strengthen our shared ties.
Happy Holidays,
ISIS"
*Mohamed Elmenshawy is Washington Bureau Chief for Alaraby Television Network, and a columnist for the Egyptian Daily Alshorouk.
Follow Mohamed Elmenshawy on Twitter:
www.twitter.com/ElmenshawyM
MORE:
Barack Obama,
Islamic State,
Terrorism,
Donald Trump
