To “make America great again” Donald Trump has proposed, in a campaign press release published December seven, that as president, he would ban all Muslims from entering the United States, have surveillance on mosques, and keep record of all Muslim people residing in America.  Trump has also said that he would ban any Syrian refugee from coming into the US and deport any Syrian that is already in the country.  He claims that undocumented immigrants and refugees have been “pouring” across the border, but according to the Washington Post, the population of illegal immigrants has actually decreased by one million since 2007.  Donald Trump is making America “great” by denying basic liberties that are supposedly what the United States is founded on.     

These statements came a short time after the terrorist attacks in Paris on November thirteenth and the San Bernardino shooting on December second.  Just like after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, many Muslims have been pinned as terrorists.  Among these people are the Syrian refugees that are trying to find a place to reside and flee from the terrible war that is raging on in their home country.  According to the White House, 2,174 Syrian refugees have been admitted to the United States since 9/11, and none of them have been deported on terrorism-related incidents.  The victims of terrorism and war are being shown as terrorists to the American public.

 The religion of Islam is being quickly turned into something it is not by people in government and  a number of Americans.  People are claiming that Islam teaches terrorism and hatred. According to a poll done by the Washington Post, 28% of American’s believe that Islam encourages violence.  Although that may seem like a small percentage, there are about 318.9 million people living in the US, and 28% of that is about 89 million people.  Eighty-nine million people are wrongfully informed about Islam’s teaching as a result of how people in government and the media portray it.  Islam is a religion of harmony, peace and tolerance.  However, people like Donald Trump are raising fear of Muslims among the people.  

Although Donald Trump’s proposals completely violate the Constitution and the principles America was founded on, a surprisingly large amount of people support him.  According to a study done by the Washington Post, 59% of Republicans support Trump’s plan, as well as 38% of Independents and 15% of Democrats.  These people support the violation of Constitutional rights and will deny helpless refugees temporary shelter due to bias and prejudice against a certain religion.  Trump is using these terrorist attacks as a reason to be skeptical of Muslims, and he is letting the terrorists win by creating a sense of fear among the American people.  

Not only is the American public supporting Donald Trump’s ban, but some are taking extreme measures and targeting mosques.  According to the Council on American-Islamic Relations, there have been a record amount of incidents targeting Mosques, at twenty-nine separate incidents in 2015.  This small percentage of the American population are inflicting terror on Muslims, so in reality, they are the terrorists.  

“We have no choice,” said Trump during a rally in South Carolina on December seventh  about his “total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States”.  The ban would not only prevent Muslim people from entering the United States to reside, but also as visitors to tour the country and visit their friends and families.   

Trump claims that it is “common sense” and that his “Muslim friends agree with him.”  Although those few may agree with him, what about the other 12 million Muslims living in the United States who are being targeted by Trump’s comments? These American Muslims might feel differently about the situation.  A 2011 report by Pew claiming 8,000-9,000 Muslim people that migrate to the “land of the free” every year? Islam is the fastest growing religion of the world, and Muslims make up a quarter of the population.  These people are doing nothing wrong and are peacefully practicing their religion, but far too many American have allowed a few extremists to ruin the Islamic peaceful image.  The peace of Islam is being overshadowed by the violence that extremists have shown to the world.

Donald Trump wants to “make America great again,” but he is just violating fundamental human rights and the principles that the United States was founded on.  Instead of making America great, he is making us the enemy to the fastest growing religion in the world.  Trump is using the freedom that we take pride in as nothing more than a false hope, and he is making innocent victims appear as ruthless terrorists by covering up Islam’s peace with violence.