'I Find It Very, Very Scary' Middle Eastern, Muslim Communities React To Trump Victory
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Reaction was coming in Wednesday from Philadelphia's Middle Eastern and Muslim communities on the election of Donald Trump as the nation's 45th president.
"I find it very, very scary," said Marwan Kreidie, the executive director of the nonpartisan Philadelphia Arab American Development Corporation. "I mean I support more Syrian refugees in the United States, he is against it. I think there shouldn't be a religious test. He said on numerous occasions that he is going to ban Muslims from traveling. This is just very, un-American."
Dr. Khalid Blankinship is a historian who specializes in Islamic and Middle Eastern studies.
"Hillary Clinton was equally or more frightening," he said, "both because of the threat of fomenting an atomic war with Russia, also her threat to increase the bombing attacks is Muslim countries."
Mujeebullah Chaudhary is the President of the Allmadiyya Muslim Community in Philadelphia.
"As a Muslim we believe that love of your country is part of your faith," Chaudhary said. "We are happy and agree in the election of our new president."
Activist Aliya Khabir says Muslims and their allies need to challenge lawmakers on any unjust legislation.
"And we do it through very strategized mobilization, education on the issues and building capital," she said. "It is going to take a lot of work to basically survive and excel during this presidency."
She says lawmakers need to be held accountable if any unjust legislation proposed by Trump does come their way.
"Which would be to clearly deny a ban on travel on Muslims and Muslim Americans and banning refugees who are fleeing for their lives. That they find a responsibility to do so, and if they don't do that based on morals, it has to be with a consequence of that we would vote you out."
