On June 12, 2016, Omar Mateen, walked into Pulse, a gay nightclub and gunned down as many as he could, killing 49 and wounding 53. Before he was shot by police, Mateen pledged his allegiance to ISIS making the attack a far more complex issue. Now, not only was it the largest mass shooting in our country’s history, but it was also the largest act of terrorism on US soil since 9/11. The Orlando attack is thus a tragedy for the victims and their families, as well as for the entire LGBT community, our country and the human race at large. (CNN)
Following the attack, presidential candidate Donald Trump tweeted out his “double-edged” condolences laced with his own personal agenda.
After a tragedy of this scale, it hardly seems appropriate that the first thought from the possible future leader of our country is “I told you so!” To add insult to injury, Trump proceeded to deliver a speech slathered in Islamophobia and xenophobia.
“When I am elected, I will suspend immigration from areas of the world where there is a proven history of terrorism against the United States, Europe or our allies, until we understand how to end these threats. We cannot continue to allow thousands upon thousands of people to pour into our country, many of whom have the same thought process as this savage killer. If we want to remain a free and open society, then we have to control our borders.”
Hmm… free and control in the same sentence, really, Donald? Yet, many Americans share this reactive Islamophobia. However, Muslims nationwide are proving them wrong. Following the attack, there have been many Muslim organized prayer groups, vigils and blood drives for the victims.
Additionally, Muslim leaders are completely rejecting the radicalized homophobic and hateful beliefs of Mateen and terrorist groups. Atif Fareed of the American Muslim Community Centers says, "We will not let a demented individual wipe out decades of good work that Muslim communities have done in the U.S." He also continued to say that the LGBT and Muslim communities stand together to fight both Islamophobia and homophobia.
Carlos Guillermo Smith from Equaliy Florida added on, “"Let me be clear: Equality Florida stands in solidarity with the Muslim and Islamic community and in opposition to the intolerance, discrimination and hate crimes that both of our communities’ experience.”
Furthermore, the President of the American Muslim Alliance of Florida released a statement condemning the attack and the terrorist groups attached while pledging support the LGBT community: “AMAF stands absolutely against all forms of violence and discrimination committed against any group regardless of sexual orientation, religious affiliation, color, etc. We condemn any acts of terrorism that are brought to people. ISIS, Al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups do not belong anywhere in this world and they do not represent the Islamic faith.” (Orlando Sentinel)
The isolated terrorist attacks by groups such as ISIS are RADICAL Islam and in no way reflect the views or beliefs of Islam. As is clearly evident, Muslim Americans are standing with the victims and are equally distraught by the attack as every other American. A small and purely evil minority does not define the worldview of an entire group of people, nor should it affect their place in oursociety and country.
That said, I do agree with Donald Trump (words I never thought I’d say!) in that we must take action as a result of this attack. However, I DO NOT believe the appropriate response is to close our borders and expel any and every Muslim from our country. Stricter gun control could prevent such an occurrence from happening again. There have been 133 mass shootings in 2016 alone. When we refuse to try and limit that number by perhaps banning the sale of machine guns or enforcing background checks, we have failed as a country.
In his statement, Donald Trump also said, “I will be meeting with the NRA, which has given me their earliest endorsement in the Presidential race, to discuss how to ensure Americans have the means to protect themselves in this age of terror.”
In a recent interview with PBS Newshour however, President Obama refutes Trump’s logic. “I just came from a meeting today in the Situation Room in which I got people who we know have been on ISIL Web sites, living here in the United States, U.S. citizens, and we’re allowed to put them on the no-fly list when it comes to airlines, but because of the National Rifle Association, I cannot prohibit those people from buying a gun. This is somebody who is a known ISIL sympathizer. And if he wants to walk in to a gun store or a gun show right now and buy as many weapons and ammo as he can, nothing’s prohibiting him from doing that, even though the FBI knows who that person is.” PBS
Issues such as terrorism and gun violence are in no way simple problems with straightforward solutions. However, I cannot imagine that punishing an entire group of innocent people because of a small minority to be among the answers. Instead, stricter commonsense gun laws could be the first step in ensuring that there is not a 134th mass shooting in 2016 and beyond.
