No one would accuse Donald Trump of having a firm grasp of history or even basic facts. But his lack of knowledge concerning American Muslims is not only troubling but also dangerous. Trump, along with a number of other Republican politicians, has been saying American Muslims and Muslim immigrants are a problem this country must solve. Trump is misinformed on a number of issues; however, his support for a national Muslim American database or registry and not allowing Muslim immigrants to enter the country reflects a larger issue. Should Muslims Americans have to prove their loyalty or patriotism to the United States? Should Muslims be restricted from entering the United States in the first place? Absolutely not. Islam has been an integral part of the United States since its inception and to deny this would be both inaccurate and offensive.
The first Muslims to arrive in America were Western Africans, who were sold and forced into slavery in the New World. They arrived before the Revolutionary Wars, when the United States was still a British colony and were therefore a part of the demographic landscape long before the United States become a republic. You might think that our first president, George Washington, would have never interacted with Islam. However, Washington made it clear he believed no national religion should take priority, even claiming that people could practice Islam in his home in Mount Vernon. One of the first Muslims elected to Congress, Keith Ellison, took his ceremonial oath on a copy of the Quran that was originally owned by Thomas Jefferson and remained a part of his private library. Muslims have been documented repeatedly throughout American history, from serving as soldiers in the Civil War to fighting for civil rights in the 1960s. As a result, there are Muslims whose claim to American soil predates detractors like Donald Trump, whose paternal grandfather immigrated only in 1885 from Germany. Would Donald Trump have made his immigrant ancestors prove their loyalty to America, or are they excluded from such trials on the virtue of having been white and Christian?
When it comes to preventing Muslim refugees from entering the United States, a quick peek into history reveals our past mistakes involving marginalization of religious or racial groups. Law-abiding Americans of Japanese descent were forced from their homes and sent to internment camps to determine that no Japanese America was a “traitor” during World War II. As for restricting refugees coming into the country, America has experience with that too — most specifically by preventing Jewish refugees from entering the United States during World War ll. America’s notorious treatment of refugees and people of color in the past is eerily similar to what a number of Republican governors have been saying recently when they discuss Syrian refugees. Unless Americans are looking to experience the shame that accompanies these acts of bigotry once again, the rhetoric surrounding Muslims needs to be focused on unity and not xenophobic attitudes.
How exactly should American Muslims prove their loyalty or patriotism? Maybe by actively fighting against terrorism. Over the last decade, Muslims in the US have thwarted 50 terrorist plots — more than local police, state police, the FBI, the CIA, the NSA and all four branches of the military combined. Unfortunately, even though American Muslims cooperate with U.S. law enforcement and repeatedly condemn acts of violence in the name of Islam, Muslim Americans are deemed guilty until proved innocent. The double standard is obvious when considering that white men who own firearms are not continuously forced to prove they are not mass shooters.
Although American Muslims should not be obligated to declare their loyalty or make a show of their patriotism, a significant portion of Muslims declare their allegiance anyway. The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, for instance, has been actively promoting the “Muslims for Loyalty” campaign worldwide along with the “Muslims for Peace” and “Muslims for Life,” campaigns that promote peace and organized blood drives benefiting Americans nationwide. When it comes to serving the United States, unlike politicians such as Trump and Ben Carson, nearly 6,000 Muslim soldiers serve in the United States military. When it comes to proving your worth in this country, American Muslims have proved their allegiance tenfold.
Islamophobia in the United States relies on ignorance of Muslim American history. Muslims are a convenient political scapegoat for many Americans, especially when you consider the fact that so few Americans have ever met a Muslim person. That is why it is so important for Americans to revisit the contributions American Muslims have given to the U.S., from skyscrapers to ice cream cones. No person, Muslim or otherwise, should be forced to suffer at the hands of someone else’s ignorance.
Natasha Mirza is a guest writer for The Cavalier Daily and the Minority Rights Coalition’s bi-weekly “Our Issues, Our Voices” column.
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