Donald Trump's executive order: is it a Muslim ban?

Donald Trump's recent executive order concerning those who can come into the United States has caused outrage and fury throughout the world. But the main question to ask is, is it a Muslim ban?

The facts

Before we proceed lets establish the facts. According to The Telegraph newspaper, an executive order is "an official statement from the President which tells government agencies how to use their resources".

In the case of Trump's order, citizens from seven Muslim-majority nations have been barred from entering the US for a period of ninety days. These countries include Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia, Yemen and Iraq. In addition, the order also suspends the United States' refugee system for a period of 120 days.

The reaction

However, the problem with the order is that it has caused such anger and condemnation throughout the world, particularly from some of the Muslim-majority nations. Whereas the Iranian Foreign minister Javad Zarif stated, as reported on the Guardian newspaper, that the ban was "a great gift to extremists", the Sudanese called the decision by Trump to be "very unfortunate".

Furthermore, civil rights and faith groups, activists and Democratic politicians were furious and vowed "to fight the order" as reported on Reuters. There has also been "chaos and protests" in several airports around the US, with Demonstrations also held around the world.

Is the order in itself a 'Muslim ban'?

There are many who believe that it is, in particular the former Acting Attorney General Sally Yates. As stated on the Slate website, Yates claimed that the order is "religious discrimination" because the intent behind it is to exclude Muslims. However, Trump and his team have denied such accusations. The fact that the executive order does not use the world 'Muslim' and it does not apply to all Muslim countries, it is therefore "not a Muslim ban".

I think in deciding whether it is a 'Muslim ban' is very difficult. But what does not help Trump's course is that the ban was not against certain individuals with prior terror involvement but instead everyone from a certain country. It seems that all individuals have been tainted with the same brush. I do believe that the order discriminates against Muslim people in general. There are unable to travel simply because of where they are from. It is not doubt going to cause further fury as the order continues to take effect. It seems that the rationale behind the order was to keep radical Islamists out of the country. The problem with the order is that it will give extra ammunition to those seeking to carry out an attack on American soil. There is immense irony here: in trying to keep the US safe, his actions may well make America more susceptible to attack as a result.