Donald Trump, U.S.

Immigration and the Muslim World

Phil Johnson, Ph.D.
January 29, 2016
www.globalnext.org

If you havet heard yet,

Donald Trump is running for
President of the U.S. Oh and hes going to make
America great again! Well
see about that, but the
billionaire is famous for
speaking his mind and it
hasnt seemed to hurt him in
the polls yet. (He gets more
media attention by ditching
the most recent presidential
debate than other candidates receive who actually show up its a fascinating world)
In December of 2015, the presidential contender was all over the media for his
proposed immigration ban. Websites and journalist went wild with the "idea" that
someone could put a ban on a group of people - in this case, a temporary ban on
Muslims entering the U.S.
Actually, for the record, this is exactly what Mr Trump said, according to a campaign
statement (and according to CNN - http://edition.cnn.com/2015/12/07/politics/donaldtrump-muslim-ban-immigration/). The statement read: "Donald J. Trump is calling for a
total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country's
representatives can figure out what is going on."
Now to put a little bit of context on the issue, the statement came on the heels of
Novembers horrific terror attacks by ISIS in Paris and after the ISIS-inspired terror
attacks in San Bernardino, California, just weeks later. In addition, his immigration

statement was released after ISIS revealed that it was using the refugee crisis in Europe
to smuggle in ISIS gunmen. Oh...and one more thing, the FBI admitted that it was
going to be tough to vet all the Syrian refugees coming into the U.S. (http://
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3283587/FBI-admits-s-no-way-screen-Syrianrefugees-Obama-administration-plans-accept-US.html)
It's worth noting that Jimmy Carter initiated his own version of immigration restrictions
during the Iran Hostage Crisis in 1979 and Theodore Roosevelt suspended
naturalization proceedings for Germans, Italians and Japanese day after the bombing
of Pearl Harbor. National security is not a new concept.
During this month of January, I've been teaching business and leadership courses in
Afghanistan and Iraq. I thought it would be interesting to see how each of these
groups - in Muslim-majority countries - "heard" the statements of Trump and how they
perceive and processed these statements through their respective media.
You can see the complete survey results for Afghanistan HERE and for Iraq HERE. Some
of the more interesting findings are as followings:
Is Donald Trump Anti-Islamic?
In Afghanistan, most people (55%) viewed Donald Trump's statements on immigration
as outright discriminatory and anti-Islamic. 1/3 of those surveyed felt the same way in
Iraq. Only about 11% of Afghans thought his statements are reasonable given recent
global circumstances. Twice as many Iraqis/Kurds (21.8%) felt the statements were
reasonable. And after all, theyre battling ISIS up close and personal on a daily basis.
(Still, only 21.8%??)
Did people recognize the emphasis on halting Muslim immigration as a
temporary solution to a confusion global situation?
Most people "heard" Trumps statement as "no Muslims allowed to immigrate to the
U.S. Period. 53% of Iraqis/Kurds heard it this way. 61% of Afghans heard it this way.
Few heard or recognized the words "temporarily, until we can figure things out. And

of course, how one "hears" the media impacts the way one process it and the attitudes
that are formed towards others and groups in the world.
Which organizations or nations present the most danger to the world?
When viewing Donald Trump's statements through a lens of global fear and a desire to
tighten security measures, I thought it would be interesting ask our survey responders
who they thought were the most dangerous organizations or nations to the world.
According to the Afghans - the most dangerous country to the world is the good ol
U.S.A. (36%) The Iraqis/Kurds gave the nod to ISIS, (48%) but the U.S. took second
place with 22% of the vote. Yes, people, on average, the U.S. is viewed more
dangerous than Al-Qaeda, ISIS, Iran, Russia, the Taliban and Syria - at least to those in
Afghanistan and Iraq.
Will there be an all-out ban on Muslims entering the U.S?
I seriously doubt there will be a ban on any particular group of people coming to the
U.S., but I can guarantee that during an election year in the U.S., security and terrorism
are going to be topics of high priority. You can expect lots of talk about these issues
and more scrutiny regarding immigration for a while. There won't be a ban - but the
bar of entry will be higher. And according those that Global Next surveyed, making
things harder for Muslims to enter the U.S. is an injustice. About 78% of both Afghans
and Iraqis/Kurds believe that Muslims are either globally misunderstood or are taking
the entire blame for a few bad apples. To be sure, there are always misunderstandings
where people, cultures and world-views are concerned. And while I am sure
misunderstandings abound - the goals of organizations like Al-Qaeda and ISIS are not
confusing at all - regardless as to whether they are categorized as Islamic or not.
Iraq: https://www.surveymonkey.com/results/SM-QFQ9K5SQ/
Afghanistan: https://www.surveymonkey.com/results/SM-82V8B99Q/