When Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman visited the White House in November, President Donald Trump semi-jokingly asked him to increase Riyadh’s investments in the US economy from $600 billion to $1 trillion.
Prince Mohammed said the amount will likely rise to the 10 digits with investments in artificial intelligence, technology and minerals.
A few months earlier, Trump was visiting the Middle East, where he said he secured more than $2 trillion in deals with the region, primarily from Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
“President Trump’s historic collaboration with these Middle Eastern nations not only strengthens America’s economy but also fosters greater safety and stability in the region, paving the way for a more prosperous and secure future,” the White House said in May.
At the same time that Trump is looking to the birthplace of Islam to bolster the American economy, his allies keep attacking the religion and scapegoating Muslim Americans for the country’s woes.
The country is witnessing an alarming rise in Islamophobia, and the White House is not merely silent; in many cases, it is fanning the flames of bigotry.
‘Destroy them first’
Florida and Texas have blacklisted the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) as a “foreign terrorist organization.” Figures in Trump’s orbit, like Laura Loomer, have been using Muslims as a punching bag with daily outbursts and delusions about Shariah law.
Republican US Representative Randy Fine, who was elected to Congress with Trump’s endorsement, has called for genocide against Muslims across the world.
“I don’t know how you make peace with those who seek your destruction. I think you destroy them first,” Fine said during a congressional hearing.
At first, many observers thought Fine was referring to Palestinians, but later his office posted the comment on X with the caption: “Rep. Fine on How to Deal with Mainstream Muslims.”
Mainstream Muslims – that’s 2 billion people, a fourth of humanity – including the Arab Gulf leaders who Trump continues to solicit funds and investments from.
Muslims’ humanity should not be contingent on contributions or investments, but the dissonance and hypocrisy between seeking Muslims’ money abroad while tolerating astounding bigotry against them at home is worth noting.
This new wave of Islamophobia is largely coming from right-wing Zionists who are trying to drown out voices critical of Israel – particularly on the right, like commentator Tucker Carlson – with fear of Islam and Muslims.
Trump has focused his disparaging comments on immigrants broadly or subsets of Muslim communities, like Somalis, without attacking Muslims and Islam.
But not engaging in direct Islamophobia is not enough. And attacking immigrants, specifically Muslim immigrants, endangers all Muslim communities, advocates say.
Trump’s responsibility
The president has a responsibility to reject all bigotry and speak up against anti-Muslim hate, especially when it’s coming from people close to him.
On the contrary, Trump continues to embrace these unsavory voices. For example, he gave a special shoutout to Congressman Fine during the White House’s Hanukkah celebration.
Weeks earlier, Trump endorsed Fine for reelection, saying the vocally Islamophobic congressman is “doing a fantastic job.”
This is the same Trump who courted Muslim voters in Michigan, put an imam on the podium at one of his rallies and nominated two local Muslim mayors as ambassadors.
Last year, then-candidate Trump called Muslims in Michigan “great people.”
It appears that for a segment of the right Muslims are only “great” in a transactional sense – er its investments in the Middle East or votes in Michigan.
But the president must stop seeing Muslims as an electoral or business deal and look at them through the lens of humanity and recognize their dignity and equality, community advocates say.
Muslim Americans’ contributions
In the US, Muslims have been part of the fabric of this country – shop owners, doctors, lawyers, teachers, and at times Uber drivers and factory workers.
Blue collar, white collar or gig economy, they contribute to this nation and are part of the social and economic dynamics that make it great.
Studies by Institute for Social Policy and Understanding (ISPU) have shown the impact of Muslim American communities on their local economy
In 2016, there were 95,816 Muslim-owned businesses in New York City, employing at least 251,864 people. Those numbers have no doubt grown significantly since then, with the city just electing its first Muslim mayor.
“Michigan Muslims comprise more than 15 percent of the state’s medical doctors and more than 10 percent of the state’s pharmacists,” an ISPU study says.
“Many of Michigan’s Muslim doctors are leaders in their respective fields, paving the way for future generations by inventing and using new medical techniques and technologies to meet the needs of today’s patients.”
Bottomline, Muslims have given a lot to this country. But regardless of their contributions, they deserve to be treated with respect, like everyone else.
