Signing A Register And Living In A Ghetto

Clad in yoga pants and a tight denim jacket, Layal Orra sits cross-legged on her couch, wat­ching a Sunday evening NFL matchup. Every once in a while, she readjusts her glasses and the burgundy hijab tied loosely around her hair. The third-generation Lebanese-American, born and brought up in Toledo, Ohio, works as a beautician at a local salon and cares more about sports than politics. She confesses that she didn바카라�t vote in the recent presidential election. 바카라�But my family did,바카라� she adds with a smile. 바카라�And they all voted for [Donald] Trump.바카라�

Although Trump won the election, that is still a surprising thing to hear from a Muslim바카라�especially one like Orra. A hijab-­wrapped woman of Arab descent, Orra, 29, embodies everything that Trump바카라�s year-and-a-half long Islamo­phobic and misogynistic campaign ridiculed and vilified. In December last year, Trump demanded 바카라�a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States바카라� on the grounds that Muslims were 바카라�terrorists.바카라� Calls for mass deportations of immigrants, made all through his campaign, particularly targeted people from Muslim-majority countries, along with Mexicans.

The tone did not change after his November 8 victory. The president-­elect has picked well-known Muslim baiters such as Steve Bannon and Michael Flynn for his cabinet. Bannon, expected to be Trump바카라�s chief strategist, once called for 바카라�a global war against Islamic fascism.바카라� Flynn, who could become the next national security adviser, has compared Islam with 바카라�cancer.바카라� Hate crimes against Muslims also appear to have surged. A Muslim man was firebombed while driving on a Texas highway; he survived but suffered severe burns on his face, arms and neck. A Muslim sophomore at San Jose State University in California told the local press someone pulled her hijab from behind before physically assaulting her in a parking garage. Scores of such incidents have been reported by the Southern Poverty Law Center in the aftermath of the Republican victory.

바카라�Trump바카라�s election and campaign have made Islamophobia worse,바카라� says Moha­mmad Abuljadail, 33, who studies and teaches at Ohio바카라�s Bowling Green State University. A Saudi national, Abuljadail has spent nearly eight years living in the south, west and midwest US. He says even Americans who personally know peaceful Muslims like him support Trump and his Islamophobic plans. 바카라�They talk to me as though I바카라�m an exception. This is really disappointing since there are about 1.5 billion Muslims in the world and most acts of terrorism are committed by non-Muslims.바카라�

Talk of a 바카라�Muslim registry바카라� has especially raised the hackles of Muslims like Abuljadail. Kris Kobach, a member of Trump바카라�s transition team, has said the new administration could reinstate a national registry for immigrants from countries with active terrorist groups 바카라� a euphemism for Muslim-majority countries. Other Trump supporters have echoed the sentiment. Speaking on Fox News, Carl Higbie, a high-profile fundraiser, compared the idea of the Muslim registry with internment camps for the Japanese living in the US during World War II.

But one needn바카라�t look that far back in time for a precedent. President George W. Bush instituted a National Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS) in 2002바카라�a year after the 9/11 terrorist attacks바카라�requiring all males aged 16 or above from a list of 25 countries to register when they entered the US and regularly check in with immigration officials. Those who violated the terms could face arrest and deportation. Its purpose was to identify and capture terrorists. Twenty-four of the 25 countries on the list were Muslim-majority nations; the only exception was North Korea. The programme became defunct in 2011 when President Barack Obama removed all the countries from the list바카라�but he did not repeal the provision itself, which means it could be easily revived.

바카라�I believe the new system Trump wants to implement might include Muslim-Americans,바카라� says Abuljadail, who had to be registered under NSEERS every time he came to the US and again at specific intervals. 바카라�Everything is possible.바카라�

But Orra uses the same example to exp­lain her family바카라�s vote for Trump, arguing that there is nothing new about Isla­m­ophobia in the US. 바카라�Ever since 9/11, terrorism became synonymous with Muslims. Nothing has changed from that day,바카라� she says.

Orra is especially critical of Hillary Clinton, a former first lady, former senator and former secretary of state who was heavily favoured to win the presidential election as the Democratic candidate but eventually lost to Trump. Orra blames her for doing little to reduce anti-Muslim hostility in American society. As senator, Hillary voted for the US invasion of Iraq in 2003; as secretary of state to President Obama, she helped launch wars and drone strikes in Muslim-majority countries like Libya, Yemen and Pakistan바카라�actions that claimed thousands of lives as 바카라�collateral damage바카라� and are widely regarded to have fuelled Muslim extremism.

바카라�She lies a lot,바카라� says Orra. 바카라�She has been in office for 15-20 years. I honestly see no good in her. Donald Trump, I feel like he says it out. He just says it as it is.바카라�

Muqtedar Khan, a professor of Islamic studies and international relations at the University of Delaware, says he is deeply distraught by Trump바카라�s election but also agrees with Orra바카라�s criticism of Democrats. A native of Hyderabad, India, who moved to the US 24 years ago, Khan remembers a speech by former Democratic president Bill Clinton during his wife Hillary바카라�s election campaign. Clinton said Muslims who love freedom and hate terrorism are welcome in this country. 바카라�Such conditions are not imposed on any other community,바카라� Khan points out, explaining why he thinks there is little substantive difference bet­ween Republicans and Democrats when it comes to attitude towards Muslims.

But he also draws attention to the groundswell of support for Muslims from various sections of American society since Trump바카라�s election. 바카라�The chief of Anti-Defamation League (ADL) said he would register as a Muslim if a Muslim registry was created,바카라� Khan says, referring to a statement by Jonathan Gree­nblatt, CEO of ADL, an organisation dedicated to combating anti-Semitism.

Greenblatt said at a conference in New York that 바카라�if one day Muslim-Americans are forced to register their identities, that is the day this proud Jew will register as Muslim,바카라� according to press reports. He is not the only one. Hashtags such as #RegisterMeFirst and #IWillRegister started trending on social media as droves of Americans expressed solidarity with Muslims.

Khan, who also delivers sermons at mosques and Islamic centres around the US, says Muslims must not go overboard with paranoia. Instead, they should look to engage broadly with the rest of the country. 바카라�The more Muslims engage and develop relations with people, especially locally with their police chief, public prosecutor, congressman, rabbi and important Chris­tian and secular leaders, the better it will be for them. They will be your shield.바카라�

Both Orra and Abuljadail agree that Muslims need to be more socially and politically active. 바카라�While half the population voted for Trump, the other half is showing even stronger solidarity with Muslims and other minority groups than before,바카라� says Abuljadail. 바카라�The Muslim-American community should be more involved in policy and legislation. We don바카라�t have enough representation and maybe if more Muslim figures spoke out and ran for public offices, we could change the attitude of more people.바카라�

That will not be an easy task by any means. Polls repeatedly show that unfavourable views of Islam are more prevalent today than after 9/11. But if that is the legacy of eight years of Obama바카라�s liberal rule, perhaps the evident peril of Trump바카라�s far-right presidency will prick Muslims and civil rights advocates out of their self-induced complacency and prove eventually to be a blessing in disguise.

 By Saif Shahin in Ohio