It took just one week of Donald Trump’s White House tenure for him to unwittingly bring Christians, Jews, Muslims and people of all faiths and beliefs together.
Trump’s early days in the Oval Office have been marked by a great deal of hatred. Already, our new president has been extremely hostile to Mexicans, immigrants, reporters, refugees, and Muslims. In the end, however, love trumps hate.
Trump’s executive order for a travel ban on Muslims and refugees from seven countries—Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen—incensed people from coast to coast. The day after it was issued, I witnessed protesters in Boston’s Copley Square displaying the best of America. They stood unified in a spirit of brotherly love, opposing Trump’s policies, white, black and brown together, not caring about the other’s religious affiliation.
One placard was adorned with a picture of a woman wearing a Stars and Stripes hijab, beside the patriotic slogan “We the People Are Greater Than Fear.” Another sign had the slogan “Your Rights Are Our Rights” between a love sign and the Islamic crescent. Humor was on display too: “Your comb-over doesn’t cover your XENOPHOBIA.”
Thankfully, Trump’s ban has been put on hold by the courts, for now at least. Nevertheless, our new unity is needed because in the war against the extremist group calling itself the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, Trump has handed his opponents a powerful propaganda tool, giving them reason to tell disaffected youth that America has turned her back on Muslims. The Jerusalem Post summed up the feelings of many in the Middle East, quoting the CIA’s former No. 2 of operations Robert Richer saying, “This was a win for jihadists and other anti-US forces…It fuels the belief out there that Americans are anti-Islam.”
Trump insists his order is “not a Muslim ban,” however, his assertion is gaslighting and Americans reject his hateful rhetoric. USA Today noted that protests in more than 30 U.S. cities after his executive order drew “a groundswell of fury” against Trump’s bigotry. The spirit of togetherness was everywhere—signs in Philadelphia said "Welcome Muslims" and thousands of protesters at New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport chanted "Let them in!"
Even if Trump manages to convince courts that his ban is legal, it will not make America safer. Not a single American has died on U.S. soil since 1975 as a result of any terrorism perpetrated by anyone from the seven banned countries, according to an analysis by the Cato Institute. Six Iranians, six Sudanese, two Somalis, two Iraqis, and one Yemini were convicted during those years of plotting failed attacks on U.S. soil—suggesting that current U.S. military and intelligence efforts are getting the job done without Trump’s help.
Keeping out refugees would hurt the U.S. economy since so many of them enjoy careers in America, doing everything from service work to leading top companies. A case in point is Andy Grove, the late leader of Intel Corp., who fled Hungary in 1956 from Communism as a refugee.
I too am an immigrant. After graduating college, I received a job offer from an international consulting firm and moved to New York on an H-1B visa. There, I was welcomed by my former teacher and mentor in Amman, ex-diplomat and visiting Fulbright scholar Professor Belmont Haydel. He hosted me in his apartment, where three religions lived peacefully together—his wife is Jewish, he is Christian and I am Muslim. After a few years, I became a proud U.S. citizen.
Recent terrorist attacks in Europe are being used by Trump to foment fear and division. However, Trump’s actions only underscore why Muslims must urgently promote a global grassroots movement to take Islam back from extremists who use a twisted interpretation of jihad to justify their violent ideology. As I have written before, American Muslims should also encourage an honest discussion about what causes terrorism and how we can prevent it.
“Victory now depends on our unity,” Jordan’s King Abdullah II told the European Parliament back in 2015 in a speech calling for greater interfaith outreach. Critical to that victory, he said, is “mutual respect” and fighting the global rise of Islamophobia, which “plays into the hands of these (ISIS) extremists.”
“Young people especially must be inspired by values that reject violence, create peace and build inclusive societies,” he said. “The future lies in unity and respect, not division and stereotypes.”
Governments and interfaith groups everywhere must collaborate to create a dialogue for action that describes and promotes the true nature of Islam, and then discredits the ideology of hate and violence preached by those perverting Islam for violent purposes.
U.S. communities are showing their interfaith commitment. Jewish people in the small Texas town of Victoria invited Muslims to use their synagogue for prayers after their mosque was destroyed in a fire. And, over 800 Christian leaders urged Trump ahead the recent National Prayer Breakfast to affirm his faith, by protecting “the downtrodden” and “the migrant.”
As someone who has faith in Islam, the U.S. Constitution, and the American spirit, I believe that if we continue working in unity to promote greater interfaith understanding, one day Trump may believe too.