Texas Imam Agrees With Trump’s Muslim Immigration Ban
Donald Trump has taken a lot of flak following his controversial comments on Muslim immigration. Along with the incredible amount of criticism, Mr. Trump received some support from a Muslim imam in Texas who agrees that Syrian immigrants should be temporarily stopped from entering the country.
The imam spoke with 12News about Muslim immigration and called Donald Trump’s proposed ban “wise.”
“I certainly see it to be wise [to] stop temporarily accepting any new Muslim immigrants (refugees and non-refugees) into the United States.”
The Texas imam, Nidal Alsayyed, said that he doesn’t believe Trump’s ban would be unconstitutional. He argued that temporarily banning new Syrian refugees from entering the country is simply the safe thing to do.
“We American Muslims need to be sincere in our religion and to the country we are living in. Peace comes before religion. We need to be truthful and transparent when we express a viewpoint or feedback. It does not matter whether Trump said it or anyone else.”
The imam also warned Trump and others not to discriminate against Muslims refugees. Nidal says that all Syrian refugees should be stopped from entering the country until the government can better vet the immigrants.
“[N]ot to agitate and differentiate Muslim versus non-Muslim refugees. Terror acts are usually plotted and managed by individuals who are residing, living, and knowing their way around, not refugees that are mostly children.”
Nidal Alsayyed was the leader at the Islamic Center of Triplex in Beaumont, Texas. After he made his comments in support of Trump’s plan, he was forced out of the organization. As the Blaze reported, Alsayyed resigned from his position after there was a demand for him to leave the mosque.
The debate over Muslim immigration to the U.S. heated up last month after the terrorist attacks in Paris, France. At least some of the terrorists entered France posing as Syrian refugees. Obama is set to admit thousands of Syrian refugees over the next year. After the recent terrorist attack in San Bernardino, California, where 14 people were murdered, many Americans want to stop the Syrian refugee program.
Trump’s campaign has focused strongly on the issue of immigration. One of the main points of his campaign is that he wants to build a wall along the United States’ southern border. He also would like to deport the millions of illegal immigrants already inside the country.
Mr. Trump has made many controversial statements during his campaign. His latest remarks on Muslim immigration have ignited outrage on both the left and the right. Other GOP presidential candidates quickly attacked Trump for suggesting the halt on immigration.
“[T]otal and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on.”
Even the White House responded to the billionaire real estate mogul’s immigration policy. On Tuesday, White House press secretary Josh Earnest said that Trump’s plan “disqualifies” him from being president.
Earnest went on to slam other Republican candidates, such as Ted Cruz and Ben Carson, who have been noticeably neutral toward Trump.
“For Republican candidates for president to stand by their pledge to support Mr. Trump, that in and of itself is disqualifying.”
Senator Rand Paul, who’s also running for the GOP nomination, slammed the Obama administration for calling others unqualified to be Commander-in-Chief. Senator Paul mocked President Obama and said that he is the one who’s unqualified. Paul then went on to tweet out 10 reasons why President Obama is unqualified.
Yesterday the Obama White House had the nerve to say someone else was unqualified for office.
— Dr. Rand Paul (@RandPaul) December 9, 2015
While many do not agree with Trump, a majority of Republican voters agree with the billionaire. According to Rasmussen, 66 percent of likely Republican voters think that there should be a temporary ban on all Muslim immigration to the U.S. until the government improves its screening process.
[Photo by Charles Krupa/AP]