In recent times, terrorist attacks have been on the rise as more people and countries are constantly being targeted. The attack on the Twin Towers on September 11th, 2001 and the terrorist attack in France on November 13th to 14th in 2015 have been devastating to the world, together having a casualty list of 3,126 dead and over 6,400 injured (Wikipedia). Many countermeasures have been taken against terrorist attacks, such as increased security measures, more documents required to travel, and even the development of anti-terrorist organizations. However, major and hateful discrimination was never one of those measures, until now.

The newly elected president of the United States, Donald Trump has “signed a new executive order stating the placing a 90-day ban on people from six mainly Muslim nations” (BBC News). The six countries listed in the order are Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. Iraq had been on the list for a previous order but is now off due to its government boosting visa screening and data sharing. Syrian refugees approved by the State department will have the ban lifted on them, while Green card holders from the aforementioned countries will also not affected. This seems alright, except for the one thing most Trump supporters fail to mention. It is complete racism.

Many people have been saying this order is completely racist towards Muslim communities and I wholly agree. The main way the White House has advertised this ban’s importance is by saying that it is a pressing matter of national security. However, when President Trump was still receiving positive feedback for his speech during coverage for a joint session of Congress on 28 February, 2017, a decision was made to push the date of the ban back. As stated by White House officials themselves, “We want the (executive order) to have its own 'moment," (CNN Politics). That there is proof of the White House’s ban being not a matter of national security, especially a pressing one, yet more something that the President is doing out of other underlying motivations, such as racism. Finally, Chuck Schumer, the Senate Democratic leader stated that the delay was “all the proof Americans need to know that this has absolutely nothing to do with national security” (The Guardian).

He also stated “A watered-down ban is still a ban,” saying as a further remark, “It is mean-spirited, and un-American. It must be repealed,” (The Guardian). All of this easily points to the falseness of this ban being an issue of national security. During his candidacy, Trump wished to completely ban Muslim immigration to the U.S. (The Guardian). With all this evidence, it would be outrageous to say this has nothing to do with religion, it has everything to do with religion, specifically, Islam. As stated at the end of the second and third paragraphs, it is completely discriminating towards people of Islamic belief.

The only reason this current ban exists is due to the backlash another executive order received when it was released without any previous notice.  That order banned people from the six countries and Iraq, regardless of documentation and green cards. This second ban is an excuse of a “make up”, with more slightly more proper rules put in place, because during the first ban, American Muslim citizens were not allowed to return home. The first order received massive backlash from protesters, who were protesting at the airports for the allowance of the Citizens held up due to their ethnicity.

If it weren’t for people like the protesters, racism would be allowed to thrive and grow, when it is only a dividing force that cannot help fight terrorism. Hating someone and alienating them only creates more hate, giving people reason to attack you. Rather than banning people and not allowing them in, we need to be more accepting, because terrorism can be an issue of international security. Rather than creating bans for Islam, we need to stop the problem from its root, by eliminating ISIS, the main worldwide advocate and organization responsible for most recent and major terrorist attacks.This way, we can not only eliminate terrorism, but also discrimination against the Muslim Communities worldwide. We, as people need to remember that terrorism is not a religion. Major discrimination was never one of the countermeasures taken against terrorism until now, but we as people and a Worldwide Community can change that.