President-elect Donald Trump has offended many people throughout the US 2016 election process; women, the disabled, African-Americans and Mexicans just to name a few. From the start of the presidential election, Muslims have also been at the forefront of Trump’s hate rhetoric and because of this, Islamaphobia is worse today than ever.
Having a President who speaks with such an open inflammatory rhetoric is undeniably dangerous for Muslim communities in the US and worldwide. His views hold a stark reminder that the public panic launched by 9/11 and later attacks have normalised Islamophobic attitudes in the US.
Trump’s views on Islam became obvious back in December when he called for a “total and complete shutdown” of the country’s borders to Muslims in the wake of the San Bernardino terrorist attack.
“Until we are able to determine and understand this problem and the dangerous threat it poses, our country cannot be the victims of horrendous attacks by people that believe only in Jihad, and have no sense of reason or respect for human life” said Trump.
A December 2015 NBC poll found that 25 percent of American citizens supported Trump’s Muslim ban. A March 2016 poll showed a much greater support, with 51 percent favouring the ban “until our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on”. Is it not surprising then that since 2001, incidents of Islamaphobia have only increased in number and frequency – the highest spike in incidents following the Charlie Hebdo attacks.
Trump’s anti-Islamic rhetoric lies in complete contrast to Obama’s views following the terrorist attacks.
“We cannot turn against one another by letting this fight be defined as a war between America and Islam,” Obama said. “That, too, is what groups like Isil want. Isil does not speak for Islam. They are thugs and killers. Part of a cult of death. And they account for a tiny fraction of a more than a billion Muslims around the world, including millions of patriotic Muslim Americans who reject their hateful ideology. Muslim Americans are our friends and our neighbours. Our co-workers. Our sports heroes. And, yes, they are our men and women in uniform who are willing to die in defence of our country,” he added. “We have to remember that.”
Many Muslims took to social media to express anxiety and concern to Trump’s shock victory, with one Twitter user saying her mother had told her to stop wearing the hijab for fear of racist reprisals.
Concerns grew following news announced that Trump has reportedly asked an Islamophobic conspiracy theorist, Frank Gaffney, to help him choose the next government of the United States.
According to the Southern Poverty Law Centre, Gaffney is “one of America’s most notorious Islamophobes”, the controversial figure who infamously suggested Barack Obama might be a closet Muslim, as well as claiming that Sharia law is replacing American democracy.
Of course, all hope is not lost and there is hope fighting the ignorance that surround Islamaphobia. London Mayor, Sadiq Khan responded to Trump’s anti-Islamic views.
“We play straight into the hands of those who seek to divide us, of extremists and terrorists around the world, when we imply that it is not possible to hold Western values and to be a Muslim,” Mr Khan said earlier this year.
“It only makes it harder to build integrated and cohesive communities and it makes it easier for terrorists to radicalise our young people, making us less safe, whether in the USA, France or Britain, because it’s dividing rather than uniting and because it builds walls to keep us apart rather than bridges to bring us together,” said the Mayor.
Whilst Islamaphobia in the West is nothing new, Trump has taken it to shocking and unprecedented levels. The best we can hope for is that this ignorance will spark others to stand up and defend their Muslim friends, colleagues and neighbours.
This was emphasized by Bill DeBlasio, the Mayor of New York City, who told audience at City College:
“If our Muslim brothers and sisters are affronted, we will stand up. We have a special obligation to this nation to show the people in the entire country that this city, with so many proud Muslim New Yorkers that make up the fabric of our society, this positive, successful city”