Trump's 'ban' on Muslims calls for vigilance in the face of fear
U.S. Republican Presidential hopeful Donald Trump on CNN's Chris Cuomo defending his controversial proposal to ban Muslims from entering the United States.
The escalation in Donald Trump's rhetoric came on the heels of last week's mass shooting in California, which authorities have deemed an ISIS-inspired terror attack. But the idea of keeping Muslims out of the country has been roundly condemned — from inside his own Republican Party, from the White House, from European leaders, from Egypt, Pakistan and elsewhere.
Still, Mr. Trump continues to lead the race for the Republican presidential nomination in many opinion polls, and his proposed entry-ban was loudly cheered by his supporters.
Today we wanted to look at the ramifications of that rhetoric, for Muslims both north and south of the U.S. border, and asking what kind of actions words such as Donald Trump's can trigger.
- Khalid Hamideh is a lawyer and a spokesperson for the Islamic Association of North Texas. He was in Dallas, Texas.
- Tendisai Cromwell is a writer and filmmaker who produces documentaries on faith, spirituality and diverse communities.
- Bernie Farber is the Executive Director of the Mosaic Institute - a think tank that engages communities in discussions on peace. He was also in our Toronto studio.
This segment was produced by The Current's Pacinthe Mattar, Ines Colabrese and Leif Zapf-Gilje.