Trump and Cruz

Arabs and Muslims have condemned terrorism; they have cooperated with law enforcement; they have held rallies and organized press conferences to denounce violence.

And they continue to be the largest group of victims of terror worldwide.

It seems that even if Muslims walk on water to reject terror, they will still be demonized and targeted by politicians who try to advance their racist agendas by exploiting terrorist attacks.

Donald Trump said Muslims are not doing enough to combat terrorism. He said Wednesday that Muslims, including in the United States, are “absolutely not reporting” violent extremists. This bogus claim is a call for violence and discrimination against diverse Muslim communities in the West.

We are not experts on the state of Muslim societies in Europe, but the United States— a land of immigrants— is a global model for integration and inclusion for all faiths and ethnicities. Right wing politicians and pundits have been fabricating and exaggerating problems that European nations may have with immigrant communities to crack down on
Muslims in the United States.

For example, after the Paris attacks in November, Fox News pundits were hammering into the brains of their unfortunate viewers that there are exclusively Muslim, Sharia-governed neighborhoods in France and England dubbed “no-go zones.”

Fox correspondents, show hosts and guests, including Greg Palkot, Jeanine Pirro, Steve Emerson, Phil Robertson and Sean Hannity, have referenced those fictitious zones in one way or another. 

It wasn’t until European mayors threatened legal action against the news network that Fox apologized for its unethical, dangerous “journalism.”

Two Fox “journalists” issued corrections for the “error” of making up stuff and
presenting right wing fiction as news.

But it was too late by then.

GOP politicians are now taking right wing misconceptions about Europe and dumping these notions on Muslim Americans.

That is why Ted Cruz called for patrolling Muslim neighborhoods here after the Brussels attacks.

There is no such a thing as “Muslim neighborhoods” in the United States. There are neighborhoods where Muslims and non-Muslims live under federal, state and local laws. Here in southeast Michigan, the neighborhoods with high concentrations of Arabs and Muslims are environments of economic stability, business innovation, family values, low crime and rich culture.

Right wing bigots, particularly Trump and Cruz, must be held responsible for this cowardly enticement. Fishing for votes at the expense of the safety of American citizens must be confronted.

As our fellow Americans ask us to condemn terrorism, we call on all citizens, especially White Christians, to denounce Trump and Cruz for their bigotry that could turn violent.