A press release from Donald Trump鈥檚 website calling for a 鈥渢otal and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States鈥� is back online after it disappeared on election day.
The xenophobic message -- which made the outrageous claim that Muslims 鈥渉ave no sense of reason or respect for human life鈥� -- couldn鈥檛 be accessed on Trump鈥檚 campaign website on Tuesday. Instead, readers who clicked the link were redirected to the home page, where they were invited to make a donation to the Republican candidate.
The press release, titled in all capital letters 鈥淒onald J. Trump Statement on Preventing Muslim Immigration,鈥� was Thursday afternoon.
The statement cites a Center for Security Policy poll of 600 Muslims in the U.S., saying: "25 per cent of those polled agree that violence against Americans here in the United States is justified as a part of the global jihad," and that 51 per cent of respondents "agree that Muslims in America should have the choice of being governed according to Shariah." The Trump statement goes on to claim that Sharia "authorizes such atrocities as murder against non-believers who won't convert, beheadings and more unthinkable acts that pose great harm to Americans, especially women."
It's worth noting that Trump left out from the original poll. For instance, when respondents were asked how they characterize shariah, the most common response (47 per cent) was: "a guide to the personal practice of Islam." Twenty-five per cent said it's "a comprehensive program governing all aspects of the faithful Muslim's life." Only 11 per cent characterized it as "The Muslim god Allah's law that Muslims must follow and impose worldwide via jihad."
The poll also found that 51 per cent of Muslims define jihad as a "peaceful, personal struggle to be more religious," while only 16 per cent described it as a "violent holy war against unbelievers of Islam."
Trump hammered his anti-immigration policy for many months through the GOP primaries and into the presidential election. However, he offered mixed messages on his approach to Muslims as the campaign wore on, and he now appears to have settled on a more region-based approach, according to a 100-day plan released on his website.
The plan includes two pledges on immigration 鈥� one relating to Trump's pledge to boot Mexican "criminals" out of the country, and the other to restrict immigration from certain parts of the world. The first is a promise to "begin removing the more than 2 million criminal illegal immigrants from the country and cancel visa to foreign countries that won't take them back." The second is a vow to "suspend immigration from terror-prone regions where vetting cannot safely occur. All vetting of people coming into our country will be considered 'extreme vetting.'"
The document also outlines some of the anti-immigration acts Trump plans to push through the Republican-held Congress in his first 100 days.
One of his proposed measures, the Restoring National Security Act, would establish new screening procedures for immigration, "to ensure those who are admitted to our country support our people and our values."
Another proposal, the End Illegal Immigration Act, would increase the penalties against illegal immigrants (implicitly, those crossing the border from Mexico), while also fully funding Trump's wall along the Mexican border. The act says the wall would be built "with the full understanding that the country of Mexico will be reimbursing the United States for the full cost of such a wall."
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