Donald Trump’s Muslim ban proposal provokes strong UAE backlash

This content was originally posted in 7DAYS UAE website at: Donald Trump’s Muslim ban proposal provokes strong UAE backlash The man leading the polls for the Republican nomination to be the next president of the United States has sparked worldwide outrage after calling for a “total and complete shutdown of Muslims” entering his country. Billionaire businessman-turned-politician Donald Trump, who has previously said he is in favour of shutting down American mosques and establishing a database of all Muslims living in the US, made his latest inflammatory comments on Monday calling it “a very important policy statement on the extraordinary influx of hatred and danger coming into our country”. His message – in the wake of the mass shooting in San Bernardino, California, by suspected extremist sympathisers – also provoked a strong backlash in the UAE, including from Lieutenant General Dahi Khalfan bin Tamim, head of General Security for the Emirate of Dubai. Khalfan called Trump’s proposal “against human rights” and laughed at the notion of the right-wing candidate becoming the next US president. RELATED: Donald Trump calls for ban on Muslims coming to the US “He will not be president of the US,” Khalfan told 7DAYS. “Take it from me, he will not be president at all.” He also mocked Trump’s idea of banning Muslims from the US, saying: “How will he do it? It is not easy.” Commenting on Trump’s business interests in the UAE – associations with Damac Properties, Landmark Group and Al Tayer Group – Khalfan said: “If he doesn’t want Muslims to come to the US, why does he want to do business with Muslims in the UAE?” Meanwhile, Al Tayer Group – which opened two Trump Home by Dorya galleries in Abu Dhabi and Dubai earlier this year – said in a statement to 7DAYS: “The statement Mr Trump made on the campaign trail is unfortunate. Given his diverse business interests in the region, we hope that he will reconsider this stand.” And American-born Muslim entrepreneur Rami Salman said he found Trump’s comments alarming. The 26-year-old Dubai resident, who grew up in US capital Washington DC and has just won funding for his innovative Wrappup app, told 7DAYS: “The fact of the matter is this guy is a front-runner Republican candidate very much in a position of power to change the opinions of people. That is something to fear.” megha@7days.ae Read the original story at: Donald Trump’s Muslim ban proposal provokes strong UAE backlash