Former prayer leader at NYC’s Imam Ali Mosque:‎

Only small groups in the US actively oppose the Trump administration

Rasa – Hujjat al-Islam Fayyazi said, “It cannot be said that the majority of Americans ‎oppose the policies of their government, although a few small groups oppose the ‎government and engage in protests.”‎

News ID: 441765

Date: 29 November 2018 - 11:40

RNA – Speaking during a conference entitled “Review of the Situation of American Society ‎During the Trump Presidency” at Rasa News Agency’s office in Qom, Hujjat al-Islam Fayyazi, ‎the former prayer leader at New York City’s Imam Ali Mosque, said, “The presidency of ‎Donald Trump has had widespread implications for the entire world and he has taken a ‎tougher approach to further American colonial goals than other president and official against ‎other countries.”‎

“Regardless of the controversy that Trump has found with the allies and even officials of the ‎United States, his pressures on Islamic countries were very evident,” the professor at the ‎Institute for Islamic Studies said.‎

Regarding the pressure on Muslims during the Trump era, he emphasized, “Since the ‎beginning of the Trump administration, the pressure on minorities in the United States, ‎especially Muslims has increased. The restrictions imposed on Muslims are not such that, for ‎example, they are prevented them from going to the mosques or from attending religious ‎ceremonies, but there has been increased surveillance and reduced sense of security for ‎Muslims in the United States.”‎

Hujjat al-Islam Fayyazi said, “One of the issues that has been recently raised is that because ‎of the spiritual vacuum created by modernity, the fortune of the people in the Western ‎countries has led to increased spirituality, which has created opportunities for the creation of ‎self-created sects.”‎

In regard to the policies of the American government and the amount of the support of the ‎people of the United States, the Iranian cleric said, “The American government does ‎whatever it can to advance its goals but to say that this government is separate from the ‎people isn’t correct, the people voted for the government of Trump.”‎

He added, “The remarkable thing about this is that powerful politicians and lobbyists in the ‎United States, in order to gain more power (for example, to obtain a position of power or ‎seats in the House of Representatives) make massive efforts in the media and to attract ‎public opinion. For this means, they can thus ensure their success. Therefore, it cannot be ‎said that the majority of Americans oppose the policies of their government, although a few ‎small groups oppose the government and engage in protests.”‎

In regard to the a question on the immoral conduct of the American government, including ‎the production and sale of weapons, and the reaction and indifference of the American ‎people in regard to this, Hujjat al-Islam Fayyazi gave an example of the killing of Saudi ‎journalist Jamal Khashoqji and Trump’s support of the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, ‎Muhammad ibn Salman, and said, “The Trump administration’s support for ibn Salman, who ‎is responsible for Khashoqji’s murder, has sparked protests in the United States, but when ‎Trump referred to the creation of jobs as a result of Saudi investments, most critics were ‎silent.”‎

Rasa News Agency

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