Jawed Anwar

Donald Trump has been now elected, and he will take oath on Friday, January 20, 2017 as President of USA.

There are many positive aspects and opportunities for Muslims to play their role. And we have to play a major role to present Islam to him and to the nation as a way of life.

The positive aspects of Donald Trump’s campaign;

Foreign Policy:

Mr. Trump opposed Ms Clinton’s foreign policy fiercely in the debates. He opposed spending money on war. He doesn’t belong to military and not involved in the war/arms industry. He was never part of the military and US establishment in the past. He is fresh. He is a pure businessman.

He is/was not the darling (most favorite) of Israel. On November 10, Israeli newspaper Jerusalem Post writes;

“The unexpected, improbable, against-the-odds victory Tuesday of Trump over Hillary Clinton undoubtedly shocked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Jerusalem as much as it shocked leaders in capitals throughout the world. Now Netanyahu and his aides will have to begin figuring out what exactly it means for Israel. And that will not be an easy chore, considering that Trump does not have any real practical record on Israel. There was a degree of predictability regarding how she (Ms Clinton) would act, and who she could be expected to bring on board her national security team. Clinton was a known-commodity because she has been involved for so long at a policy level on Israel-related issues. No such predictability exists with regard to Trump. He is a blank slate; a wild card.”

On Immigration:
Obama made promises to new immigrants when he was running for the Presidential election first time in 2008. However, he introduced an extremely weak program for illegal immigrants (going nowhere) in last year of his Presidency that has also not been materialized yet. Democrats are always proved hypocrite in immigration laws and immigrants. They always betrayed the promises on immigration after the election.

However, despite the rhetoric against immigrants and immigration, Republicans always brought a sensible immigration policy that benefits many.

All the good program that relieved the illegal immigrants inside the USA come into Republican era.  In 1986, Republican President Ronald Reagan signed an immigration reform bill into law. The bill made any immigrant who'd entered the country before 1982 eligible for amnesty. We can also expect same from Mr. Trump despite his policy for future ban of illegal immigrants.

On Society and Culture:

Donald Trump will appoint multiple Supreme Court justices responsible for appointing federal judges, a Secretary of Health and Human Services, Secretary of Education, and Surgeon General that probably may stop the society from further liberalization and perversion.

His appointments of pro-life (anti-abortion), and pro-family values officials and judges may prevent further liberalization and gay-ization of the society.

Trump promised to advance “equality” for homosexuals but also said marriage should ultimately be a state’s rights issue.

He said it would be his “preference” that the Supreme Court justices he nominates overturn Obergefell v. Hodges, the decision redefining marriage, but would not promise to ensure they would overturn it.

 “They’ve got to be great judges,” he said. “They’ve got to be conservative judges. We’re going to see how they stand depending on what their views are. But that would be my preference. I would prefer that they stand against [Obergefell], but we’ll see what happens. It depends on the judge.”

However, Trump has never overtly championed same-sex “marriage.”

In 2000, he told the gay rights publication The Advocate that he believes marriage is “between a man and a woman.” Trump briefly supported civil unions but then opposed them, according to the homosexual lobby group the Human Rights Campaign (HRC). The HRC called him a “consistent opponent of marriage equality.”

On Religious freedom

One of Trump’s main religious freedom issues during his campaign was repealing the Johnson Amendment, which threatens religious organizations with the loss of their tax statuses if they endorse political candidates.

He also strongly criticized Clinton’s support for Obama’s coercive contraceptive mandate.

 “Hillary Clinton supports forcing The Little Sisters of the Poor who have taken care of the elderly poor since 1839, [to] pay for contraceptives in their healthcare plan (even though they have never wanted them, never used them and never will), and having the government fine them heavily if they continue to refuse to abide by this onerous mandate,” Trump wrote in his letter to Catholics. “That is a hostility to religious liberty you will never see in a Trump administration...I will defend your religious liberties and the right to fully and freely practice your religion, as individuals, business owners and academic institutions.”

In this letter, he promised to protect homeschooling, end Common Core, and expand educational choice. This promise will benefit all religious groups.

 On Islam and Muslim

Despite his rhetoric against Islam and Muslims, he said in his victory speech: “Now it is time for America to bind the wounds of division, have to get together. To all Republicans and Democrats and independents across this nation, I say it is time for us to come together as one united people. It is time. I pledge to every citizen of our land that I will be President for all of Americans, and this is so important to me. For those who have chosen not to support me in the past, of which there were a few people, I'm reaching out to you for your guidance and your help so that we can work together and unify our great country.”

A statement that the Trump campaign issued proposing a total ban on the immigration of Muslims to the United States has disappeared from the team's website before the election.

The Challenge of Muslim/Islamic Organizations

The challenge we are facing here is the future of Islam in America. Our future depends on the future of Islam. And the future of Islam in this country depends upon our role, a unified role to present Islam as it is (without hiding and camouflaging and without fear of the world). Allah helps only those who helps Him and themselves.

The challenge is how to present and communicate Islam to the leaders of the nation. This is the number one issue and challenge. The solution and remedy of all the issues is on finding the question of this answer.

We have also work and coordinate with those Christian religious groups who are standing to protect the society from secularization and liberalization.

Pro-life and pro-family Christian groups will work hard to ensure Trump keeps his pro-life promises and appoints Supreme Court justices opposed not only to Roe v Wade but also to same-sex “marriage” and Obergefell v. Hodges. Similarly, they will also campaign to reverse some of President Obama’s executive orders and regulations pushing gender ideology on the country. For example, a new federal regulation forces doctors to ignore science and their medical judgment and perform sex change procedures on children, even if the doctor believes the treatment could harm the child. The state of North Dakota and several hospitals and health clinics are challenging the law in federal court.

We, Muslims should fully support this endeavor on the Quranic Principle “Help one another in acts of righteousness and piety, and do not help one another in sin and transgression. Fear Allah. Surely Allah is severe in retribution.”

Also read the following article at antiwar.com to know the real comparison between Trump and Clinton.

Who is against Muslims and the Arch Racist: Hillary or the Donald?

Jawed Anwar can be reached at jawed@seerahwest.com