Donald Trump, the leading candidate for the Republican nomination, shocked the country last week by calling for a “total and complete shutdown” of Muslims entering the country. This was in response to anxiety about the recent terrorist attacks abroad and in our own country in San Bernardino, Calif. President Obama immediately condemned the statement, as contrary to our values.
What has made our nation successful beyond any other has been our ability to allow in immigrants from around the world. After a generation or so of adjustment, they join our enormous “Melting Pot” of nationalities to become one nation. The fact is, however, the overwhelming majority of our immigrants have been directly or indirectly from Europe, which share the Judeo-Christian religious heritage. This common heritage has significantly contributed to the ease with which our people have melted together.
A man I know spent decades working in Muslim countries, and stated to me categorically that we might not call ourselves a Christian nation, but that is unequivocally our foundation, which is pointed out starkly to Westerners living in Muslim nations.
Some theological thinkers tell us that our political leaders believe, or want to believe, that religious world view can be ignored in their quest to lead a nation. The theological thinkers add that the clash between these views will only intensify until they are recognized for the force they represent, and then are dealt with thoughtfully. Trump may be stating what he is asserting completely ignorant of this reality, but he is talking to what the American people instinctively perceive — that there is something not working here, and we have to stop what we are doing and figure it out. In a Dec. 8 editorial, excerpted below, the Wall Street Journal explains how President Obama’s failure to take ISIS seriously has led to Trump’s failure to deal with the issue in a measured fashion.
Whether or not America is a Christian nation, our foundation is based upon Judeo-Christian principles. The Muslim approach to life and government is foundationally different. Creating a world where Christian and Islamic peoples live peaceably together is a task which must be addressed head-on. If the differences were only among a small number of people, that would be one thing; it is not. The Pew Research Center just completed a survey in predominantly Muslim nations. In seven of those nations (Indonesia, Turkey, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Malaysia, Senegal and Pakistan) with a combined population totaling 753 million, 64 million hold a favorable view of ISIS. With so many millions of people holding a favorable view of this barbaric, self-described Islamic army, the American people have no choice but to conclude that the clash between Western thinking and Islam is not something that can be swept under the rug, or dealt with via tepid reassurances from our national leaders.
Art Hall
A Dec. 8 Wall Street Journal opinion piece states: “President Obama’s insistent failure to confront the realities of global jihad has produced its opposite in Donald Trump’s unfiltered nationalist id. This is a reminder of how much damage a misguided American President can do to the country’s political culture. … Mr. Trump’s Muslim ban fails above all on its own terms as anti-terror strategy… Americans are going to need them as allies to fight the radical Islamist infection. … We want those Muslims coming forward with tips or warnings, but they won’t do so if they feel that their government treats all Muslims as terror suspects. … Yet Mr. Trump is shrewd, and he knows his Muslim ban will have supporters thanks to Mr. Obama’s anti-terror failure – and his increasing flight from reality…Americans also worry that the current Commander in Chief doesn’t understand the jihadist threat, in part because he keeps saying it isn’t much of a threat. He said Islamic State was “contained” on the eve of the Paris attacks… The oldest truism in politics is that demagogues (like Trump) flourish in the absence of leadership.”
