‘Muslim ban’ might not go far enough
The ban covers only five of the 51 Muslim-majority countries in the world. Those five have less than 10 percent of the world’s Muslim population. It is hardly a ban on all Muslims.
Regarding a recent op-ed about the Trump administration’s immigration policies (“The Muslim Ban and my Jewish Mother,” June 29):
The ban covers only five of the 51 Muslim-majority countries in the world. The five countries have less than 10 percent of the world’s Muslim population. Therefore, it is hardly a ban on all Muslims entering the United States.
The ban also covers non-Muslims in North Korea and Venezuela.
After the American Revolution, Barbary pirates started attacking American ships. In 1786, the U.S. ambassadors to France (Thomas Jefferson) and Britain (John Adams) met in London with the ambassador from Tripoli in order to negotiate a treaty to protect American ships. The U.S. delegation asked for an explanation as to why the government of Tripoli was so hostile to the United States, even though the Americans had done nothing to provoke an attack. The Tripolitan ambassador, who technically was a representative of the caliph, explained that it was the right and duty, based on the Koran, of Muslims to wage war on non-believers.
Islam hasn’t changed since 1786. Maybe the United States should ban Muslims who don’t reject the part of their law obligating them to wage war on non-believers.
Jim Silverman
Pittsburgh
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