A Texas Imam agrees with Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s controversial suggestion that America set-up a “total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States” until further investigation can be done. The Imam also said there should be a ban of Syrian refugees of any religion.
The Imam, Nidal Alsayyed, who leads a Beaumont, Texas, mosque agrees with both Donald Trump and Texas Governor Greg Abbott.
Governor Abbott called for a halt to relocation of Syrian refugees into Texas after the Paris terrorist attacks. He also called upon President Obama to stop the importation of these refugees into the U.S., as reported by Breitbart Texas’ Bob Price.
On Monday Trump called for “a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on,” as reported by Breitbart News.
Trump said, “our country cannot be the victims of horrendous attacks by people that believe only in Jihad, and have no sense of reason or respect for human life.”
Trump issued a statement saying that Americans need to understand radicals within Islam before the government authorizes them to come into the country, as reported by Breitbart News.
Alsayyed, the Imam from east Texas told his local television station, “I certainly see it to be wise [to] stop temporarily accepting any new Muslim immigrants [refugees and non-refugees] into the United States.”
Alsayyed leads the Islamic Center of Triplex. He said the halt applies to new refugees of any religion and he does not believe that taking this action is unconstitutional. The Muslim religious leader said these actions are acceptable “when it comes to peace and safety.” He also added, “This should not prevent the United States to fulfill its duties towards international partners.”
The Texas Imam said, “It does not matter whether Trump said it or anyone else … American Muslims need to say we are with this country.” He also said they should raise the American flag in support of the nation. He continued, “We American Muslims need to be sincere in our religion and to the country we are living in. Peace comes before religion. We need to be truthful and transparent when we express a viewpoint or feedback. It does not matter whether Trump said it or anyone else,” he said.
When challenged on his comments the Imam responded in a comment via Facebook saying:
I only said what I believe is right. Trump is not against American Muslims; He is against any new Muslim immigrants (refugees and non-refugees)! There is a big difference here! We cannot be emotional.
I believe there is a great confusion and lack of understating nationally and among Muslim themselves for what Mr. Trump is calling for. Refugees in general have no clear identity or belief. They are seeking shelter and opportunity; but America cannot take this risk NOW!
My advice to trump to stop differentiating among Christian vs. Muslim refugees; only because he may get surprised to see all refugees claiming to be Christians!
The east Texas imam made local headlines last December when he denounced ISIS and their ruthless conduct. 12NewsNow anchor Kevin Steele asked Alsayyed if he would denounce ISIS. He strongly replied, “Come on, no human being would accept this type of animal behavior. This is like, this is completely, it doesn’t belong to any religion this ISIS.”
In Trump’s statement on Monday, he noted a Center for Security Policy poll showing there are segments of the Muslim population that hate U.S. citizens. The poll showed that 25 percent of the Muslims polled “agreed that violence against Americans here in the United States is justified as part of the global jihad.” Fifty-one percent of those polled “agreed that Muslims in America should have the choice of being governed by Shariah.”
Breitbart News has also reported that The Economist/You Gov poll published in late November shows that Americans strongly oppose Muslim immigration into America. The poll showed that of those likely to vote in a primary election, approximately 30 percent believe that all, most, or more than half of Muslims worldwide support the Islamic State (ISIS).
An Ipsos poll in mid-September revealed that even before the Paris terrorist attacks, public support for allowing more Middle East refugees into the country crashed once Americans understood the enormous numbers of refugees, as reported by Breitbart News.
Before the San Bernardino, California, attacks, a full 61 percent opposed Obama’s refugee program, as reported by Breitbart News’ John Nolte.
Lana Shadwick is a contributing writer and legal analyst for Breitbart Texas. She has served as an associate judge and prosecutor. Follow her on Twitter @LanaShadwick2
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