While the US appeals court may have denied the justice department’s request for an immediate reinstatement of Donald Trump’s controversial travel ban on immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries – Iran, Iraq, Libya, Syria, Sudan, Somalia and Yemen – the Trump administration has been steadfast in its support of the executive order, which it says is necessary for national security.
Trump has said the travel ban is designed to reduce the risk of terror attacks in the US. But terror experts have concluded – from 2001 onwards after the WTC hijacked-plane attacks – no one from the seven banned countries has committed a deadly attack in the US. In fact, no Muslim citizen from these countries has committed a fatal attack on US soil since 1975.
On the contrary, the 9/11 attacks were carried out by 19 men – from Saudi Arabia (15), United Arab Emirates (2), Egypt (1) and Lebanon (1). Surprisingly, the ban targeted none of the hijackers’ origin countries.
As the Institute of Policy Studies, a progressive think tank, points out: “It’s no accident that of the seven countries identified, the US is bombing five (Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Libya and Somalia), has troops deployed and military bases in another (Sudan), and imposes harsh sanctions and frequent threats against the last (Iran).”
But the irony is many of the refugees in these countries are a product of wars waged by the US itself. Also President Trump happens to have no business holdings in any of these countries.
Many across the world, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, have come down heavily on Trump for his travel ban decision.
While the governments from two banned Muslim countries (Iran and Iraq) have vowed to retaliate, surprisingly, the criticism from rest of the Muslim-majority countries has been muted. US allies like the UAE, Qatar, Egypt and Saudi Arabia have not condemned Trump’s executive order.
While Saudi Arabia is the largest international sponsor of Islamic militant groups and among the largest exporters of fighters to Islamic State, the US has looked the other way to these concerns due to the strong arms-trade ties between the two countries. Also, Egyptian President General Abdel Fateh El Sisi was the first leader to congratulate Trump on his unprecedented election victory. Trump has important business stakes in all these countries. His daughter Ivanka said in 2015 that their firm was looking at “multiple opportunities in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Qatar, Saudi Arabia – the four areas where we are seeing the most interest”.
Much to the shock and surprise of the Muslim world, a top diplomat from the UAE came out in defence of Trump’s order saying the US was within its rights to take what he said was a “sovereign decision” concerning immigration. The comments by Emirati Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan could help bolster the US administration’s assertion that the directive was not intended as a ban against Muslims.
