Donald Trump’s suggestion that Muslims should be barred from entering the USA has elicited a storm of protest around the world – with a community gathering outside the East London Mosque last Friday joining in – but has also elicited strong support, particularly in the USA itself.
Donald Trump’s call came during the Republican Party’s campaign to select its candidate for the US presidential election next year. Trump already had support from nearly one third of Republicans who are likely to vote in the selection, with his nearest rival receiving only half that level of support. Since his comments, his support has risen to over 40%.
As other candidates drop out of the race for nomination, their supporters will turn elsewhere: the question is whether they will transfer their support to Trump or to whichever candidate looks more likely to beat him. The danger is that, with Trump’s support soaring, other candidates will think he is the winner, drop out of the race themselves – and call on their supporters to back Trump because this will, they think, put them in a good position to get a job when he wins.
If Trump does enter the presidential race for the Republicans, it is not at all clear that the Democrats – whose candidate is likely to be Hillary Clinton – will be able to beat him. Trump’s simplistic statements are seeing support for him among Republican voters increase. Obama’s two victories came because he was able to mobilise working class and black and ethnic minority citizens who do not usually vote. Many of these people have been disillusioned by Obama’s presidency, which has not delivered anything like what they hoped it would. It will be hard to persuade them to come out and vote for Hillary, who is seen as a very establishment figure.
Back in Tower Hamlets, the local Labour Party used to criticise Mayor Lutfur Rahman for his association with the East London Mosque as tantamount to associating with Muslim extremists – an assessment which Mayor Rahman and the Mosque itself refuted. It was very different last week, as local Labour Leader John Biggs turned up at the protest to condemn Islamophobia alongside trade unions and representatives of various faith groups.
Taking the microphone at a protest is cheap, though – the local Party must be judged by its actions. In the summer, the government commissioners awarded mainstream grants to community organisations in Tower Hamlets in a process which had no equalities impact assessment and which disadvantaged many longstanding local ethnic minority community organisations. To date, John Biggs has not criticised the lack of an equalities impact assessment or arranged for one to be done – or responded to calls for Council staff to help organisations which are having to close down services on which local ethnic minority communities relied. Fighting Islamophobia is something which must be enshrined in practice, not kept for formal protests on high days and holy days. As with puppies, fighting islamophobia is not just for Christmas – it’s a lifelong commitment.
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