Source: RNS
By Tobin Grant
A data-driven conversation on religion and politics. He is a political science professor at Southern Illinois University and associate editor of the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion.
“Many Muslims are kind.”
That’s how my son ended our conversation yesterday as I dropped him off at school. He wasn’t making a political statement. He was thinking aloud after we talked about why Trump wants to keep Muslims out of America.
My son’s third-grade class happens to have a lot of students from Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries. We live in a college town with many families from overseas. His class specializes in helping students whose second language is English. The school offers an English-Spanish class, and there are almost enough students for an Arabic-English class, too.
My son was worried because his friends have been talking about how they are going to be deported if/when Trump becomes president.
“Will Ahmad need to leave America? He’s my best friend.”
“No. Trump won’t be president. Even if he is, what he wants to do is illegal.”
“You promise? You double-pinky promise?”
I double-pinky promised.
He felt better.
I felt awful.
On Wednesday, Cokey Roberts pressed Trump on how his rhetoric is impacting children. She asked Trump if he was proud of reports that some white children use comments about deportation as taunts to other children.
“What about what children are hearing from you and how they are responding to you?” asked Roberts. “What about the children?”
It’s a question that remains unanswered.
Last night, my son saw that the debate was on TV. He pointed and asked if that was Donald Trump. I told him it was. My son turned down both his thumbs and booed him.
Categories: America, The Muslim Times, US Politics, USA
Everyone may understand and feel your pain . Mr. Trump must realize that one should win the heart of others . He is trying to become the President of USA , and USA means that great country where Christians , Muslims , Jews and others became one , that is American. He should know that division of society is not beneficial for any one . On the other hand , our reaction should not be emotional . Some Muslim terrorist groups are representing that Islam which permits the killing of innocents . We are to present true Islam before the world , that Islam which says ” murder of one innocent is like the murder of entire humanity ” ; which not only validates the morale values of religions but also accept the religious diversity when declares ” your religion is for you , mine is for me ” , etc. We are to declare all those Muslim groups wrong who are cause for the miseries of human being . We should make the messages of peace by Imam jamaat ahmadiyya., common . We should not only condemn but also isolate those people who are following distorted Islam .
@ Syed Aftab Alam: For your info Ahmadiya Jamaat also believes in the same interpretation of Islam as other extremist groups. They do not believe in separation of church and state. They believe in coercion within the religion. They wish and try to have their own system of justice even when they are living under other governments. They have a separatist and supremacist mentality. They do not believe in the equality of women. So this false narrative of peace is just a need of time. When they are in majority then you can see a different behavior from them.
I hope and pray that each and every Ahmadi Muslim begins to live and practice, without any reservation, the 11 points highlighted in the recent True Islam declaration by the community, in all aspects of our lives, regardless of circumstances, so we can chalk out a clear and unambiguous path for the coexistence of all Muslims of every sect and every non-Muslim, as one human family. Where we do not try to marginalize any one and every human being unless he or she commits a crime has equal rights before law and equal opportunity to succeed and prosper.
Please see the 11 points of True Islam at the following website:
http://trueislam.com/