These American Muslims have their own thoughts about the White House’s travel ban

via AP Photo

President Trump signed an executive order on Friday temporarily banning immigration from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

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While protests and backlash have been swift, there are some who have offered a different perspective. Independent Journal Review reached out to several American Muslims to get a feel for their thoughts about the ban. The publication identified and asked the thoughts of four conservative and libertarian Muslims: Jay Smith, Karim Elsayed, Jazi Ray and Mohammed Shaker.

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Smith said that if protesters truly wished to help, then there were numerous opportunities to do so in Syrian and Iraqi refugee camps. Smith also stated that she did not see the ban as bigoted: “As a Muslim-American, I’ve never missed any opportunities because of my ethnic background, religion or skin color. I’d have just as much of a chance as any white American or any American in general. So has my family.”

Smith wondered where the current protesters were while past administrations, including former President Obama’s, dropped bombs on the various countries where travel was now being restricted.

Elsayed said that the ban was not a Muslim ban, as the Trump administration had only included the countries previously listed in Obama’s Terrorist Travel Prevention Act. He criticized the protests, asking where the concern was when some of the same countries on the list were being bombed in previous administrations.

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Jazi Ray also argued that the ban was not explicitly a Muslim ban. In fact, she observed that such restrictions should have been put into effect years ago. Ray suggested that those upset with and protesting the ban should donate to refugee groups.

Shaker said that he did not mind nonviolent protests but called the current ones “stupid” and “hypocritical.” Similar to Smith, Elsayed and Ray, the Army veteran wondered where the protests were regarding bombings and other violent action in the Middle East.

“I was concerned for a moment because there wasn’t a provision for green card holders, but that was later fixed,” he admitted. Shaker also cautioned against blanket outrage, recalling moments from his service that forced him to look at the ban a bit differently:

I served in Iraq. I helped train Iraqi soldiers, and not everyone was trustworthy. I remember an Iraqi officer who was trying to get me to tell him where a sensitive location was. A lot of our equipment was in that location.

He told me he would pay me if he could sell the equipment on the black market. There were complaints from soldiers that officers were taking weapons and equipment from us and selling it to we don’t even know who.

As a result, they weren’t leaving enough weapons or equipment for their soldiers. So I could understand why there could be questions about where peoples’ loyalty lies.

(H/T Independent Journal Review)

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