Mohammed Ibrahim knows just how dangerous the Islamic State group can be.
The terrorist group bombed his parent’s house, his brother’s house and killed three of his cousins when they invaded Tikrit, Iraq, last year, he said Tuesday.
The Valparaiso University law student says he wants to stop IS as much as any American, which is why he is so concerned about a proposed plan by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump to ban all Muslim immigrants from the country and the support Trump has received by some Americans.
“That really disappoints me,” Ibrahim said.
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Other Muslims in Northwest Indiana also expressed concern, noting that someone in Trump’s position helps validate such beliefs by others.
Faisal Kutty, a law professor at Valparaiso, said Trump was careless to make such a proposal, especially because of the climate in the country toward Muslims.
“It’s divisive,” Kutty said.
He argues it also plays into the hands of terrorists, who want to convince the Islamic world that Americans hate all of them.
“They want to be able to say to their recruits they don’t like any Muslims,” Kutty, who is Canadian, said.
Ibrahim, who has been in the United States since January when he started at VU, said he doesn’t think Trump’s position is held by most Americans. But he’s concerned by those who support it.
Ibrahim said he fought alongside American soldiers in Iraq from 2004 through 2006, and he considers some Americans to be his brothers. Turning away Muslims will likely have bad consequences for the country, he argued, as Middle Eastern countries will no longer want to work with the United States and will perhaps turn to Russia instead.
Aneeb Mohideen, a student at Indiana University Northwest in Gary and co-president of the Muslim Student Association there, said he laughed at first when he heard about Trump’s plan but then grew more concerned when he saw how it resonated with some people.
“Him coming into the political arena is really highlighting a lot of people’s inner thoughts,” said Mohideen, who lives in Valparaiso.
Mohideen added that he thinks it’s a good sign that many other Republican leaders have spoken out against Trump’s plan. Those leaders include Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, who called the plan “offensive” during a stop Tuesday in Lake County.
“The United States cannot and should not discriminate on the basis of religion,” Pence said. “Free exercise of religion is at very heart of our constitutional guarantees for all persons in this country.”
His co-president and fellow IUN student, Ameena Minhas, said she doesn’t think most Americans support the idea but said Muslims in the country need to show others that their religion is one of peace.
“I think it’s just our duty to exhibit peacefulness and understanding to those who don’t exhibit it to us,” she said.
Not all Muslims in the region were concerned, however.
Imam Nazir Chahim, who is the youth leader at the Illiana Islamic Association in Highland, said he thinks Trump’s chances of winning the presidential race will drop after his comments.
“It’s not worth any reaction,” he said of the plan.
Chahim argued that Trump is just appealing to the fear of a small portion of the population who don’t know much about Islam.
Kutty argues that Trump’s plan is “clearly” unconstitutional, as the government is prohibited from creating a religious test. However, that doesn’t mean Trump couldn’t try, if he did become president, Kutty said.
Staff writer Carole Carlson contributed to this story.
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