American Friends speak out over ‘Muslim registry’
Concern about proposal
The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) has expressed its concern about suggestions that president-elect Donald Trump is to create a ‘Muslim registry’.
The AFSC said in a statement that the proposal ‘is an attack on our country’s founding values – that all are created equal and constitutionally guaranteed freedom of religion’.
The statement was issued in the wake of Carl Hagbie, the Trump associate and author, telling the American press that the internment of Japanese Americans during the second world war provided a legal precedent for Muslims in the United States to register.
The AFSC strongly condemned plans for any such registry and stated: ‘We understand that an attack on any of us – especially the most vulnerable – is an attack on all of us. We call upon people from all faith traditions, as well as those without religious affiliations, to join us and stand in solidarity with our Muslim brothers and sisters’.
The statement concluded: ‘We urge the present and future government of the United States to learn from the mistakes of history and take a strong stand against bigotry. We urge our leaders to put in place policies and laws that welcome refugees and immigrants and respect the dignity and humanity of all.’
During world war two an estimated 120,000 Japanese Americans were interned in ten camps across the United States. AFSC at the time actively opposed the internments. The organisation refers to it today as ‘a shameful moment of unquestionable bigotry’.
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