A Muslim activist group has sponsored an open letter in the Des Moines Register urging Iowans to reject the campaign of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and that of any other candidates “who promote divisiveness.”
“Building walls, closing borders and segregating populations based on their religion are all policies reflective of some of the worst, most regrettable times of human history,” said the letter from the Los Angeles-based Muslim Public Affairs Council. The letter will be included in the Register’s Friday edition. The Iowa caucuses, the official start of the presidential nominating process, are Monday.
While the letter does not specifically mention Trump or any other candidate, it refers to many of the front-runner’s controversial stances on immigration and refugees. Spokeswoman Rabiah Ahmed confirmed that the letter was primarily about Trump but added that it wasn’t limited to him.
“Definitely Trump is included in this. He is the one who proposed building the wall [with Mexico] and barring Muslims’ entry into the U.S., but it is not just Trump. We see this kind of rhetoric being used by other candidates like [Ben] Carson … We just find it to be a disturbing trend,” Ahmed said, calling it a “culture of hatefulness.”
The letter tells Register readers “not be taken in by emotional and fearful rhetoric that neither assesses the situation in our country accurately nor presents solutions that are rational, workable, or practical.”
The group compares Trump’s policies to the internment of Japanese citizens during World War II as well as the turning away of Jewish refugees during the war. Ironically, both policies were carried out under Democratic President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
The letter also takes a shot a Trump’s slogan “Make America great again” by disputing his premise that the U.S. no longer qualifies as extraordinary. “Many of us also do not automatically buy into the notion that America is lacking in greatness.”
The letter concludes: “With your caucuses a few days away, you have the chance to speak up and set the national tone about the America you and the rest of us want to see. Freedom, pluralism and democracy — that’s what America stands for. We look forward to hearing and seeing how the 2016 presidential elections will start in your great state of Iowa.”
Asked if the council has any concerns about the rhetoric coming from the Democratic side, Ahmed said she could not think of any.
