Hundreds of activists rallied on Thursday (December 10) in front of Donald Trump’s hotel in midtown New York City to condemn the Republican 2016 presidential candidate’s call to bar Muslims temporarily from entering the United States.
Chanting “Dump Trump” and “refugees welcome,” the protesters castigated Trump’s comments.
“There shouldn’t be a number on how many Syrians should be allowed into this country and Islamophobia and Arabphobia and Xenophobia and all of it, it’s becoming a real issue because all these safety regulations, extra safety regulations have been taken since 9/11,” protester Radwa Elshafey said.
“At one point they’re not regulations and more of putting fear into the Arab community and the Muslim community for reasons that aren’t exactly fair. These terrorist groups aren’t what Islam represents, they’re nothing close to what the religion represents and it’s something that needs to be brought awareness to.”
The rally’s speakers included Hussam Al Roustom, a Syrian refugee who arrived in New Jersey four months ago after fleeing the war-torn city of Homs.
“We are here to say that we, as Syrians and Muslims, are preachers of peace,” he said.
“We are not preachers of terrorism. ISIS is a terrorist organization, they don’t represent us nor are they a religious organization.”
Trump’s statement, which has drawn widespread criticism both at home and abroad, came in response to the deadly shootings in San Bernardino, California, last week, in which a married Muslim couple described as “radicalized” by authorities killed 14 people. On Thursday, Trump canceled a planned trip to Israel amid the uproar.
Islamic State militants claimed responsibility for a Nov. 13 attack on Paris that killed 130 people and the Oct. 31 downing of a Russian passenger aircraft over Egypt’s Sinai region that killed 224.
They promise more attacks on the West and Russia and have claimed that U.S.-born Syed Rizwan Farook and his Pakistani wife Tashfeen Malik who killed 14 people in a mass shooting in Southern California last week were its followers.
The United States and its allies have been bombing Islamic State in Iraq and Syria in an effort to drive the group from swathes of territory it controls in both countries.
Syria’s four-year civil war has killed an estimated 250,000 people and driven more than 11 million from their homes, with 7.6 million displaced within Syria. (Reuters)
