No country for Islamist supremacism

Prayers of deepest sympathy for the families of the victims of today’s terrorist attack that killed fifty and wounded more than fifty at Pulse nightclub in Orlando on Sunday.

The terrorist, Omar Mateen, an Islamist supremacist, called 911 during the attack to pledge allegiance to ISIS. He targeted Pulse because it was a gay nightclub.

It will be interesting to see whether the American left, including the LGBT community, will recognize the need to oppose Islamist supremacism, and to take more interest in the ways their counterparts are tortured throughout the Mideast in every country except for Israel, where LGBT rights are upheld and defended.

We stopped the Nazis. We stopped Communism. We made it clear in the U.S. that there is no place for white supremacists who act on their beliefs. We need to make it clear Islamist supremacists  – and those who tacitly support them – have no place here.

Of course, most American Muslims are good citizens who do not bother other groups, and the U.S. has had better success than Europe at assimilating them. That reality, and the fact that our country’s tradition of religious freedom is foundational, makes Presidential candidate Donald Trump’s idea to place a temporary ban on Muslim immigration – something he resurrected today in a controversial Tweet–problematic at best.

That said, it should be noted–in the interest of accuracy–that Trump has called for a temporary ban on Muslim immigration to the U.S., not a permanent ban. Though I don’t personally agree a ban is the best way to handle this, I think it is dishonest and sloppy of some in media to keep repeating that Trump advocates a “ban on Muslim immigration” without explaining that he actually is advocating a “temporary ban on Muslim immigration.” (An argument can be made that the latter, as a security measure, could be prudent in a time of war). Free speech doesn’t include yelling fire in a crowded theater, and freedom of religion does not equal an imperative to fast track the immigration of large groups more likely than most to possibly contain among their ranks violent, radical individuals. As I’ve written before, I think the United States should focus efforts on identifying, vetting, and welcoming true Muslim moderates, including people like LGBT activists and bloggers who are under constant threat in the Mideast, rather than fast tracking huge numbers of people who, according to FBI and Congressional sources, we can’t properly vet.

I hope the world remembers this day when BDS “activists” start accusing Israel of “pinkwashing” – or claiming that Israel stresses its fine record of respect for LGBT civil rights in order to distract from problems with the Palestinians.

The reality is, Israel is the only nation in the Mideast in which gay people are safe. This week, the world got a sampling of what radical Muslims throughout the Arab world mete out to gay people who live and love openly.

A final thought re: Trump coming under fire for his Tweet, “Appreciate congrats for being right on radical Islamic terrorism, I don’t want congrats, I want toughness and vigilance. We must be smart!” Trump’s use of the word ‘congrats,’ and his focus on himself in the immediate wake of this horrific mass atrocity, were insensitive, to say the least. As is often the case, Trump makes it difficult for reasonable people to know what to make of him, exactly. All he really had to say beyond extending sympathy is that he has been warning about the dangers of Islamist extremism, and here it is again on our shores.

But Trump is right we must be vigilant. When people see something suspicious, they should report it to police immediately, political correctness be damned. And perhaps a temporary halting of mass immigration of Muslims from countries like Syria – who are being fast-tracked into this country as I write this – would be sensible under the circumstances.

There is something disingenuous, or at least out of perspective, in insisting that exercising caution in the case of the Syrian refugees is inhumane. For one thing, the rush to admit these 10,000 individuals to the U.S. is very selective; where is the concern, for instance, among the passionate advocates of this policy for Christians throughout the Mideast, who in virtually every country there other than Israel are being harassed and abused? For the Yazidi people? For gays and lesbians throughout the Mideast?

This world is absolutely full of needy and deserving people from all around the world – including bona fide moderate Muslims, and Mideastern Christians – who are subject to continual, horrible abuse, and desperate to come here.

If we are going to admit large numbers of immigrants from the Mideast, we should start with those whom we know –  for a certainty – are friends.

This entry was written by Heather Robinson and posted on June 13, 2016 at 1:51 am and filed under Blog. permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post. Keywords: Donald Trump, ISIS, Islamist terrorism, Pulse nightclub. Post a comment or leave a trackback: Trackback URL. */?>