Petition calls for Trump UK ban
Wednesday, December 9, 2015
A petition reached over 300,000 signatures today urging Donald Trump, considered the front runner to become the Republican Party's candidate for President of the United States, be banned from entering the United Kingdom. This follows Mr Trump's comments that Muslims should be blocked from entering the US.
Image: Gage Skidmore.
Also, Scotland's First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, removed Trump from his role as business ambassador for Scotland.
On Monday, Mr Trump said he wants a "total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the US" until the country can understand "what the hell is going on" with regard to terrorism. He said in a statement that a large number of Muslims show "great hatred towards Americans".
Trump's comments on Monday came days after a shooting in San Bernardino, California by Syed Rizwan Farook and his wife Tashfeen Malik, in which fourteen people were killed. US President Barack Obama said in an address from the Oval Office on Sunday the attack was an act of terrorism.
Donald Trump's statement has been widely criticised, including by members of his own political party. Republican Matt Moore said the policy is a "bad idea" and Speaker of the House Paul Ryan said "this is not Conservatism".
Democrat candidate for President Hillary Clinton described Trump's comments as "shameful". Secretary of State John Kerry argued Trump's statement would not help in the ongoing fight against Islamic State (IS), saying his remarks were "not constructive".
Trump argued that his policy idea is "no different" to that of former President Franklin D. Roosevelt's policy which saw large-scale confinement of Japanese US citizens in internment camps following Japan's attacks on Pearl Harbor in 1941. Mr Trump also said the policy should not be implemented on Muslims currently living within the US.
Kassem Allie from the Islamic Center of America, accused Trump of evoking fear "reminiscent of Nazi Germany and Stalin". The Pentagon expressed concern Trump's demands could be counterproductive in the fight against IS, saying it "bolsters Isil's narrative".
Mr Trump also said on Tuesday that police in London are "afraid for their lives" in some areas because of radicalisation in the city. These comments were rebuffed by the United Kingdom Prime Minister David Cameron who said Trump was "simply wrong" and Mayor of London Boris Johnson said the claim was "ridiculous".
Sources
- "Trump UK ban petition passes 300,000 signatures" — BBC News Online, December 9, 2015
- "Donald Trump: Robert Gordon University strips honorary degree" — BBC News Online, December 9, 2015
- John Whitesides. "Muslim proposal prompts calls to ban Trump from UK, Israel" — Reuters, December 9, 2015
- Tom McCarthy, Ben Jacobs, Sabrina Siddiqui, Ryan Felton, Kate Lamb. "Donald Trump's Muslim ban plan plunges Republican party into chaos" — The Guardian, December 9, 2015
- "Trump’s Muslim ban call 'endangers US security'" — BBC News Online, December 8, 2015
- Anthony Zurcher. "Is Donald Trump destroying the Republican Party?" — BBC News Online, December 8, 2015
- Faith Karimi, Catherine E. Shoichet, Dana Ford. "San Bernardino shooters were radicalized 'for quite some time,' FBI says" — CNN, December 8, 2015
- Stephen Collinson. "Obama: 'This was an act of terrorism'" — CNN, December 7, 2015
- Press release. "Donald J. Trump Statement on Preventing Muslim Immigration" — Donald J. Trump, December 7, 2015
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