Putting A Hold On Muslim Immigration Is NOT Racism

I hear it all the time. I read it all the time. People are calling Donald Trump a racist because he wants to stop Muslims from entering the country for a period of time until the government can figure out a way to properly vet them.

His idea stems from the fact that it is already known there are Muslim terrorists in the United States and from the fact that the heads of the FBI, the NSA, and other agencies have stated publicly that currently there is no way to properly vet Syrian refugees and that ISIS has already made it known that they are infiltrating the refugee groups to gain access to Western countries.

How people can't see that it's a no brainer is beyond me. But there it is. Here's the problem with calling Trump the R word.

Islam is not a race. Islam is a political ideology and religion rolled into one. And while Muslims do believe they are superior over all others, it is not based on skin color or ethnicity. It is based on their belief in Allah and Mohamed. So those who toss around the R word saying if you don't like Muslims you're a racist are actually showing their ignorance of what the word means.

The data isn't complete yet but I would venture a guess that most of the terrorist acts committed in the last few years are related to radical Islam. They are killing thousands upon thousands of innocent people around the world. Our President wants to bring Muslim refugees from Syria into the country without proper vetting – even has he rejects the idea that Christians from the same region be allowed to enter the U.S. Once again he favors Islam over anyone else.

Of course, he says they will be properly vetted. But guess what? Tashfeen Malik, the female terrorist who helped to kill 14 people and wound 21 others in San Bernardino, was “properly vetted.”

I'm not going to say the government screwed up (although there is evidence that they did). What I'm saying is that this woman was vetted by Obama's Department of Homeland Security and cleared for entry – even though there is now evidence that she was already radicalized before she was vetted.

There is simply no good way to properly vet these people – but the President has ordered that they be allowed in anyway. Trump's idea is not so far fetched.

And Trump's idea is not only nothing new – it has been done in the past. The only difference is that Trump is calling for a temporary moratorium on Muslim entry as opposed to nationality.

During World War II, FDR banned Germans, Japanese and Italians from entering the country. During the Iran hostage crisis between 1979 and 1981, Jimmy Carter banned Iranians from entering the country.

The entire Middle East is not a threat to the United States. Nor is any one country at this time. Only Islamic radicals are the threat. But since our government has failed to devise a screening process that can determine who is and is not radicalized, it only makes sense to suspend entry into the country for all Muslims until a better system can be worked out.

Exceptions certainly could be made. Someone pointed out that the King of Jordan would not be allowed entry under this ban. But heads of state would certainly be the exception, as would diplomats and trusted others who have already been vetted and have been here before. This ban would mostly be on Muslims who have never been here and those attempting to immigrate.

And again – the ban would be temporary – only until the government creates a better vetting system. Given that President Obama loves Muslim immigration to our country, it would give his administration incentive to actually create that vetting process within a reasonable time.

One must ask why the Obama adminstration is rejecting Christian refugees from Syria. Are they not in as much danger as the Muslim refugees? To my knowledge, no Middle Eastern Christians have committed acts of terrorism in the United States or elsewhere. Doesn't it make sense to bring them first? Or is it just me?

I'm sure some will call me a racist for agreeing with Trunp on this issue. But they will simply be proving the point I made above – their ignorance of Islam and what the word “racist” means. But it's really not surprising given the way the R word is tossed around so easily these days.

Just about every disagreement with the Obama adminstration will get one labeled a racist. And criticizing any group of people, from Muslims to those crossing our borders illegally, earns you the same label. Some people cannot have an intelligent discussion on the issue and instead try to make the issue about hatred and bigotry.

But that's just my opinion – I could be wrong.