Muslim ban is not Christian behavior

President Donald Trump has gone under fire yet again, this time for the Muslim ban he implemented with an executive order that bars citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries — Libya, Sudan, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Yemen and Somalia — from entering the U.S. for a period of 90 days. This ban ignores the fact that there have been zero number of post 9/11 U.S. fatalities by extremists from these countries under Trump’s ban or the fact that the ban excludes citizens from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, countries that were involved in terroristic attacks including the 9/11 attacks. Interesting enough, Trump has no business interests in the seven countries listed in the ban. He does, however, hold major stakes in the other countries such as Saudi Arabia that were not listed in the ban.

Despite those big questions on the ban, I’d like to focus more on how President Barack Obama’s name has been linked to this somehow and how Christian-like this ban is or isn’t.

First, are we back to playing my favorite game of “blame Obama?”

It sure looks like it.

I saw a picture and video floating around on various social media sites about President Barack Obama and his 2011 ban. I figured, hey, it’s Facebook, not a lot of fact checking on that site. Yet the Trump administration decided to run with it and actually put out a statement Sunday mentioning Obama’s “ban.”

“My policy is similar to what President Obama did in 2011 when he banned visas for refugees from Iraq for six months,” Trump’s statement read. “The seven countries named in the Executive Order are the same countries previously identified by the Obama administration as sources of terror.”

Ignoring the fact that it seems a bit unusual that Trump is using Obama as a backup or a cover for his administration’s actions, there’s a lot of issues with that statement, especially because this ban now is very different than what Obama did in 2011.

The Obama administration’s policy applied to citizens of a single country (Iraq) and then to specific Iraqis such as refugees and applicants for Special Immigrant Visas. Trump’s order applies to seven countries and to just about every category of immigrant other than diplomats. Obama’s “ban” slowed the flow of Iraqi refugees, but they continued to be admitted to the United States meaning there was no outright ban.

Another big difference was the amount of time and effort spent with Obama’s review versus this Muslim ban. Obama’s administration reportedly conducted over a dozen meetings with various Cabinet-level officials from relevant departments and agencies. Meanwhile, the Trump executive order took everyone by surprise as it was presented to those agencies “fait accompli” which means a thing that has already happened or been decided before those affected hear about it, leaving them with no option but to accept.

What that effectively does is ask more questions than give answers. Many agencies were confused as to how the ban affects those with green cards since the order itself wasn’t specific on that fact. That led to some green-card holders from the seven countries stated above to become detained at various airports, causing these national protests.

One final difference that for me is the biggest key is rationale. The Obama administration’s 2011 review was in response to specific threat information. In May 2011, two Iraqis were arrested in Kentucky with terrorism charges for allegedly helping al Qaeda in Iraq carry out attacks on U.S. troops. As of press time, the Trump administration has provided no evidence other than Trump’s statements on Twitter with baseless slogans such as “Make America Safe Again” that provide no facts.

While lawyers and folks smarter than me can try to take down this ban using legal procedures like citing the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 which banned all discrimination against immigrants on the basis of national origin, I’d like to appeal more to the religious side of the this ban.

In an interview given Friday, President Trump said that persecuted Christians will be given priority over other refugees seeking to enter the United States. Again, without citing any factual evidence, Trump and his administration claimed that Christians were “horribly treated” in those countries he’s banned.

“If you were a Muslim, you could come in,” Trump said, “if you were a Christian, it was impossible.”

Although Christians make up a very small fraction of Syrians admitted under the refugee program, they still were able to enter the United States. There is no evidence that the U.S. had a discriminatory policy against Christians.

So let’s talk about what this ban is really about. Xenophobia and Islamophobia are the roots of this order. How are we OK with a president making statements and executive orders that actually goes against our First Amendment? Oh, did you think First Amendment rights was just about freedom of speech? Read again. There’s also freedom of religion where we are given the right to practice whatever religion we choose.

Let’s go back to Christianity. I’ve heard people declare the United States a Christian nation. This Muslim ban is far from it.

Confused? Take a look in that Bible that Trump and his followers like basing policy on.

“When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God.” (Leviticus 19:33-34)

Go ahead, tell me I’m just picking and choosing which biblical passage that fits my argument and I’ll introduce you, the pot, to this kettle that you just called black.

This Muslim ban is anything but Christian behavior. You cannot call yourself Christian and in the same breath declare this ban necessary. That is contradictory to what it means to be a Christian, you know, that do unto others as you would have them do unto you bit, also in the bible. But if you much prefer being a hypocrite for the sole purpose of protecting the unsourced and uncredited claims of our president, then understand that you are on the wrong side of history.