All Muslim immigration to the United States should be halted, Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump said Monday.
\nThe real estate mogul called for the \u201ctotal and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country\u2019s representatives can figure out what is going on.\u201d
\nIn a statement, he cited a Center for Security Policy poll he said indicated, \u201c25% of those polled agreed that violence against Americans here in the United States is justified as a part of the global jihad\u201d.
\nThere was previously a large chorus against allowing Syrian refugees entry to the United States with some Republican presidential hopefuls calling for a religious test to prevent Syrian Muslims from entering the country.
\nBut Trump\u2019s call goes one step further as it seeks to bar all Muslims, regardless of nationality, from entry.
\n\u201cIt is obvious to anybody the hatred is beyond comprehension,\u201d he said. \u201cUntil we are able to determine and understand this problem and the dangerous threat it poses, our country cannot be the victims (sic) of horrendous attacks by people that believe only in Jihad, and have no sense of reason or respect for human life.\u201d
\nThe call follows a mass shooting that killed 14 victims outside of Los Angles, which authorities are investigating as terrorism.
\nBut his proposal was met with enthusiasm by many of his supporters, who showed their approval via social media as well as at his rally on Monday night, according to CNN.
\n\u201cI think that we should definitely disallow any Muslims from coming in. Any of them. The reason is simple: we can\u2019t identify what their attitude is,\u201d said 75-year-old Charlie Marzka of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
\nMoreover, the Muslim travel ban will likely do little to dent Trump\u2019s own popularity among Republican primary voters. The billionaire businessman has dominated the GOP contest for months despite repeated controversies that would likely sink other White House hopefuls.
\nOther Republicans seeking their party\u2019s nomination refuted Trump\u2019s newest policy prescription.
\nFormer Florida Gov. Jeb Bush called his fellow candidate \u201cunhinged\u201d, saying, \u2018His \u2018policy\u2019 proposals are not serious\u201d.
\nAnd New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said Trump\u2019s comments are \u201cridiculous.\u201d
\nAcross the aisle, Sen. Bernie Sanders, who is seeking the Democratic nomination, took to Twitter to voice his opinion. \u201cThe U.S. is a strong nation when we stand together. We are weak when we allow racism and xenophobia to divide us. cc: @realDonaldTrump.\u201d
\nHillary Clinton, the main Democratic presidential hopeful, described Trump\u2019s comments as \u201creprehensible, prejudiced and divisive.\u201d
\n\u201cYou don\u2019t get it,\u201d she tweeted to Trump. \u201cThis makes us less safe.\u201d
\nThe Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation\u2019s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, said it was \u201cextremely shocked\u201d about Trump\u2019s comments.
\n\u201cIt is reckless and simply un-American,\u201d CAIR executive director Nihad Awad said.
\n\u201cDonald Trump sounds more like a leader of a lynch mob than a great nation like ours.\u201d
\nTrump\u2019s campaign said some of the poll figures it cited were from the Center for Security Policy, which CAIR noted has been branded a \u201chate group\u201d by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
\nIn New Jersey, director Ahmed Shedeed of the Islamic Center of Jersey City warned that Trump\u2019s remarks were \u201cgiving the right to people to hurt us.\u201d
\n\u201cI\u2019m asking him, I\u2019m begging him. It has to stop, all these accusations,\u201d he said after prayers at a mosque in the city, as he urged Trump and others to see Muslims as \u201cpart of the American mosaic.\u201d<\/p>\n
Source: The Muslim News<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" All Muslim immigration to the United States should be halted, Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump said Monday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":5202,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5195","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-c102-muslim-minorities"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n