Delaware Muslims brace for Trump presidency

Rasa - Town hall held to discuss concerns facing Del. Muslim community Saquan Stimpson/

News ID: 425747

Date: 13 December 2016 - 00:42

RNA - Naveed Baqir remembers the feeling of being on a Muslim registry. When he arrived from Pakistan with a student visa in 2003, he recalled an immigration official scribbling a number on his passport. "My life changed for the next 10 years," he said.

In nearly a decade, the program Baqir became a part of – the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System – produced no known terrorism-related convictions, according to the Rights Working Group and Penn State Law. But President-elect Donald J. Trump may revive a version of that program and introduce new measures that have Delaware Muslims worried about the next four years.

"One of the scary things is we’re just not sure what could happen," said Ryan Houldin, a staff attorney for the Philadelphia chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

During the registration program, every time Baqir entered the United States, he said he spent hours in a waiting room with his passport sitting in a folder.

"After maybe four hours somebody would pick up that folder and say ‘Mr. Baqir… How have you been doing?’ ‘I’m good.’ ‘Ok. Here’s your passport.’ And I could see all along my passport is sitting right there, and nobody was doing anything," said Baqir, a computer scientist. "It’s a very stressful situation... I would not want anybody, Muslim or non-Muslim, on that registry.

Muslims throughout the country have been apprehensive since Trump won the election Nov. 8, said Muqtedar Khan, a professor of Islam and global affairs at the University of Delaware.

"It has scared a lot of people," he said. "I’ve had a few women asking if they should stop wearing hijabs because they’re feeling insecure. I've had imams (religious leaders) of mosques asking in an anxious tone, ’What do you think is going to happen?’ "

'Attacks feel personal'

Baqir estimates there are about 10,000 Muslim households in the Delaware area. There are over a dozen mosques statewide.

Khan said Muslims in Delaware are "protected" by Democratic Party leaders like Gov. Jack Markell.

But on a national level, the implications of campaign proposals related to Muslims have been unclear.

One of Trump's boldest campaign promises was "a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country's representatives can figure out what is going on."

He has since walked back the statement and said he would support "extreme vetting" of immigrants from certain countries.

Trump has also obliquely addressed the idea of a database of Muslims already in the United States, saying last year, “We’re going to have to look at a lot of things very closely. We’re going to have to look at the mosques. We’re going to have to look very, very carefully.”

Trump subsequently told ABC News that he has not ruled out a database on all Muslims but emphasized his concern about Syrian refugees.

"I definitely want a database and other checks and balances," he said. "We want to go with watch lists. We want to go with databases."

Trump's campaign said last month that he has not advocated for a system that tracks individuals based on religion, but the president-elect has yet to state directly that he will not pursue such a program.

A blanket database on all Muslims would be "facially unconstitutional," said Ryan Tack-Hooper, a staff attorney and legislative advocate for the American Civil Liberties Union of Delaware. But a program targeting certain countries could return.

Local Muslims say outside of policy, they are concerned about Trump's tone regarding Muslims.

In July, Trump criticized Ghazala Khan, a Muslim mother of a fallen soldier, for not speaking next to her husband at the Democratic National Convention.

"She had nothing to say," Trump said. "She probably, maybe she wasn't allowed to have anything to say."

Baqir's wife, Amma Latiff, said those types of comments fortify the idea that Muslim women are "submissive, oppressed, somebody who’s freedom is restricted" – stereotypes she said aren't true.

"If [Trump] feels a certain way and shares his opinions publicly about Muslim women... now it’s something that is approved of and will start becoming a norm," said Latiff, who wears a hijab and niqab, a face covering, while running the Tarbiyah School in Newark. "The hijab is freedom of religion and freedom of speech. Those are my rights."

Trump has alleged, without evidence, that "thousands and thousands of people" of a "large Arab population" cheered in Jersey City, New Jersey, as the World Trade Center fell on 9/11. He also said that Muslims should “report when they see something going on.”

"What can I do with what goes on in Syria?" Baqir said. "To put that on my shoulders is neither appropriate or justified."

Rob Arlett, chair of the Trump campaign in Delaware, said Americans have reason to be concerned about Islam.

"There is a radical segment within the religion and their role is to destroy the American way of life," he said. "The continuations of bombings are coming from those radicalized in that religion."

Arlett said Trump will make America safer for non-Muslims and Muslims.

"Should they be concerned? If you’re following the laws, the answer is no," he said. "If you’re not, no matter your religion, you should be concerned."

Noor Jamal, a 19-year-old student at the University of Delaware, said blanket hostility toward Islam is misplaced.

"So many Muslims are the victims of terror groups," said Jamal, co-president of the Muslim Student Association. "We are fearing the same people."

Co-President Sumera Ali, 19, said verbal attacks on her religion feel personal.

"It's a person coming at everything we are," she said.

Mohamed Abdullah, a Yemeni immigrant and Newark resident, said Muslims aren't inherently politically liberal, but Trump's anti-Muslim rhetoric during the campaign pushed them away.

"We’re intrigued to see what happens when it comes to the economy, health care and small businesses," he said. "The fact that I happen to be a Muslim doesn’t dissolve me from these concerns."

Hate crimes against Muslims surged by 67 percent from 2014 to 2015, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The Southern Poverty Law Center reported nearly 900 cases of harassment and intimidation against various groups since Nov. 8.

"The election made me realize people had feelings suppressed, and now they have a leader," Ali said.

Baqir said Trump supporters may feel threatened by increasing diversity.

"They forget what America is right now," he said, gesturing to himself. "America now looks like this face."

Legal possibilities

A few dozen Muslims attended a town hall meeting last week to ask questions about what the Trump presidency will mean for them.

They voiced concerns about the idea of a registry, visa restrictions, workplace discrimination, hate crimes and harassment.

Tack-Hooper, a panelist, said the possibility of an immigration ban or Muslim registry is unclear.

"We think those things are legally suspect to say the least, but some version of them probably will come to pass," he said.

Houldin, who was also on the panel, said bringing back the registration system is "a contingency we’re planning for."

After all, the odds are in Trump's favor, Houldin said.

"With the Supreme Court, a Republican-held congress and White House, you can’t predict what they’ll do," he said. "We’re hoping for the best and planning for the worst."

CAIR handles a variety of cases, Houldin said, including workplace discrimination related to religious dress or praying, unlawful detainment and bullying in schools. He said the organization has received an increase of such reports in the last year, particularly since Election Day.

Houldin said as inauguration day approaches, social justice advocates are on guard.

"We’re not idly standing by," he said. "We’re actively engaging and preparing."

Tack-Hooper said Muslims should report instances of harassment and hate crimes to law enforcement and organizations like the ACLU so they can "orchestrate a response."

Baqir founded the Delaware Council on Global and Muslim Affairs last year to get the community more engaged in the political process.

"Recently our community has become very active," he said. "We've risen to the occasion."

Focusing on faith

He said while the political climate has become "very dangerous," congregants should focus their faith.

"It is through the remembrance of Allah that the heart finds contentment," he said.

Jacqueline Delcampo converted from Christianity to Islam four years ago after discovering the religion while traveling the United States. She said the day after Trump's election, her 13-year-old sister, who is not Muslim, went to school in a hijab.

"She said 'This is my form of protest,' " Delcampo said.

Delcampo said she isn't very concerned about a potential Muslim database because her faith is already obvious.

"This is my registry," she said, pointing to her hijab. "I'm not going to be scared in a country based on this freedom."

Baqir and Latif visit churches periodically to dispel misconceptions about Islam.

"The differences are minute," Latiff said. "The values are the same."

Extremist groups, such as Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State, "use religion as a tool" for political power and manipulate religious principles to justify violence, Baqir said.

"The majority of Muslims do not believe in that interpretation of Islam," he said.

He said the essence of the Quran, the religious text, can be summed up in three parts: sanctity of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

"If anyone preaches anything other than these three as a goal for Muslims, they're not understanding what Islam is," he said. "Taking one life is like you killed humanity."

The Delaware Council on Global and Muslim Affairs hosts youth programming, Baqir said, so "they don't have time to go online and watch ISIS-inspired social media." He said it's not a major concern locally, but the community wants to learn lessons from incidents like the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing and the 2015 San Bernardino shootings – deadly events officials said were conducted by radical Muslims.

"We're focused on prevention," he said. "These radicalizations happen because they're not part of the community. They're on the fringes."

Outreach beyond the Muslim community is important, said Osama Al-Qasem, an executive committee member of the Philadelphia chapter of CAIR. He suggested a pledge to Muslims at the town hall: Invite a non-Muslim to dinner.

"They will talk about their interaction with a Muslim family, and when someone says something negative, your friend will say 'That's not true,' " he said.

The Muslim Student Association held an event the week of the election called Rise With Positivity. Members set up a table with balloons and notecards on campus and invited positive messages of any kind. Ali said shows of support are more than welcome to the Muslim community now.

"We want people to see we're going to be OK," she said. "We will flourish regardless."

847/940