When will Republicans stand up for American values and denounce the racism emanating out of the White House?
In reaction to Trump’s retweet of an anti-Muslim extremist, the Council of American Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, responded to what it called Trump’s “incitement to violence against American Muslims” after he retweeted Islamophobic videos from an anti-Muslim British political leader who has been charged in the United Kingdom with “religious aggravated harassment.”
CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad challenged the Republican Party to stand up to the bigotry and hatred encouraged by the statements and tweets from the current occupant of the White House.
Joining CAIR at the Capitol Hill news conference in Washington, D.C., were representatives of the Muslim Public Affairs Council and South Asian Americans Leading Together.
The joint statement said:
This morning, millions of Americans were shocked but not surprised to see President Trump re-tweet anti-Muslim videos.
One of the videos has already been de-bunked by Snopes. The other two videos are unverified.
The videos were from a hate group known as “Britain First,” which calls for a comprehensive ban on Islam in the UK and to deport British Muslims, who’ve made the UK their home for generations.
President Trump’s actions are putting the lives and safety of American Muslim children and families at risk.
Hate speech leads to hate crimes. When hate speech and conspiracy theories against American minorities go unchallenged, they foster an atmosphere that causes hate crimes.
Throughout this year, CAIR offices nationwide received, on average, at least 1-2 daily reports of hate crimes targeting American Muslims, Muslim houses of worship, or people perceived as Muslim.
As numerous Americans who are Muslim or ‘looked Muslim’ were shot or beaten severely, we did not hear a word from this President.
During most of these attacks, attackers uttered or expressed the same anti-Muslim slurs repeated daily in mainstream headlines and often by President Trump himself.
This is a continuation of President Trump’s pattern of sexual, religious and racial harassment of many Americans. This includes Trump’s attempts to turn Americans against each other… and his standing by Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore, who was credibly accused of inappropriate contact with children.
Trump has infected the Republican Party and I am asking my Republican friends who believe in the words of the Declaration of Independence, in Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, in the 14th Amendment, and in the Constitution’s guarantees of equal justice under law, to not sit idly by while all this injustice continues.
This is not a conservative or liberal issue; it is an American one.
I am asking our nation’s Republican leadership:
• When will you draw a line in the sand against this bigotry and harassment?
• What will it take for the Republican Party to say that these actions do not represent the Grand Old Party?
• When will you put country over party?
• When is the Republican Leadership, RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel, House Speaker Paul Ryan, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, going to stand up for all Americans? This cannot be the America you want your children to live in.
Millions of Americans worry about our safety and future.
We need Republican Party leadership to publicly affirm American values of religious freedom,
We need Republican Party leadership to join us in reminding our fellow Americans that while some may want to divide us, we are, and always will be, Americans, united as one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
Trump retweeted three unverified, anti-Muslim videos posted by Britain First, a extremist right-wing party widely condemned as an extremist group that targets mosques and Muslims.
One of the three tweets includes unverified video with the caption “Islamist mob pushes teenage boy off roof and beats him to death!” while another reads, “Muslim Destroys a Statue of Virgin Mary!”
Another video claims to show a “Muslim migrant” beating up a “Dutch boy on crutches.”
The British government, including Prime Minister Theresa Maay, responded to Trump’s actions in a statement, saying “it is wrong for the president to have done this.”
“Britain First seeks to divide communities through their use of hateful narratives which peddle lies and stoke tensions. They cause anxiety to law-abiding people,” the statement said. “British people overwhelmingly reject the prejudiced rhetoric of the far-right, which is the antithesis of the values that this country represents – decency, tolerance and respect.”
AsAmNews has Asian America in its heart. We’re an all-volunteer effort of dedicated staff and interns. You can show your support by liking our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/asamnews, following us on Twitter, sharing our stories, interning or joining our staff.
