American Muslim leaders Friday 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 travel 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, 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 the 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.”
Several participants said they had been heartened by the show of
support by Americans of many faiths, with members of Catholic, Lutheran and
Jewish faiths set to attend the three-day convention.
They pointed to the protesters who showed up at US airports, along with
lawyers offering pro-bono legal help, as the new ban took effect.
“We were deeply touched by the response we received,” Azeez said.
But he and other speakers also pointed to recent incidents of attacks
against Muslims as evidence of increased Islamophobia and accused far-right
groups, and the US president himself, of fanning tensions.
“This Ramadan, in particular, was a very difficult one for many in the
community,” said Asra Ali, a Chicago-area dentist and convention organiser,
referring to the Muslim holiday of fasting which ended last Saturday.
In May, a man who had gone on an anti-Muslim rant fatally stabbed two
people who came to the defense of two girls on a train in Portland, Oregon.
And earlier this month, Nabra Hassanen, a 17-year-old Virginia girl,
was beaten to death after she left late-night prayers at a mosque. A 22-year-old
man was charged in that attack, which police said was an act of road-rage not a
hate crime, but many Muslims remain convinced she was targeted over her faith.
There was a special prayer planned for Hassanen during the convention.
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