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News & Comment
Voting for Trump vs Clinton – which is less evil?
News
The countdown is underway as the US presidential election campaign has narrowed its candidates between Democrat Hilary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump.
Comment
Voting is to entrust someone with your confidence, firm belief, and is your proxy in the actions carried out, is your voice in the words spoken. Therefore when that person is deliberately given that trust through the vote ballot, in turn the voter becomes just as responsible for the actions carried out and deserve to be held accountable for allowing such a person to carry those actions in your name. This is while the person in charge must be held accountable at all times during fault of misconduct.
Leading to the issue of the major current event of the US presidential elections. The main race is between Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hilary Clinton. Scrutinizing the two candidates, both claim to offer solutions to the American issues at home and hold aggressive stances for foreign policy especially towards Muslim countries. US Muslim citizens are facing the pressure to fall into the trap of societal pressure to vote in the US elections –since it is a constitutional right and making one’s voice heard in the election race.
Soliciting the Muslim vote using Muslim speakers/advocates and inciting emotions of social responsibility and civic duty to vote whether or not the Muslim citizen agrees wholeheartedly with the candidate whilst claiming the concept of lesser of two evils. Or being faced with the option of not voting at all since the candidates have nothing to offer except harm and working to further self-interest and the interests of their support lobbies whether they openly or discreetly cause harm to the American public or create catastrophes overseas.
Focusing on the Muslim aspect, what is the good done for them i.e. what is the benefit, when every alleged crime committed by a Muslim even if by name only is the suspect to be exposed, blamed, attacked all before any credible evidence is shown and his Muslim roots are blamed and condemned and not only that, the Muslim population is forced to be involved and those who oppose US interference in Muslim lands risk being labeled as a terrorist sympathizer while this accountability is not afforded to Muslims and hence their right to speak out is questioned. Both candidates are openly attacking the Muslim population and touting stronger foreign policies on Muslim lands and its people.
Does it really matter whether it is Republic or Democratic Trump or Clinton – citing only the past four presidents’ terms and violent display of their foreign policy, we have witnessed what both rival parties, Republican and Democrats have done to the Muslim communities at home and ravaging and exploitations made possible by US foreign policy on Muslim lands.
To fall into the narrow thinking that there is only this way and to allow oneself to be exploited does great harm to the individual and the Muslim community. The current candidates and their respective party are openly using the Muslim card and the “war on terror” as one of their running platforms in their campaigns, whether it is firmly securing the interests of the Jewish entity and its occupation and killing of the Palestinian people or maintaining the war in Iraq and Afghanistan or continuing to prop up the Assad regime in Syria to carry out more massacres.
Muslims holding US citizenship are facing major pressure from the community itself and from other organizations to lobby their voice and channel it into voting to make a change be it be domestic or abroad regarding issues that matter most to them. And are being cornered into voting for either a democratic or republican but is there another way for Muslims. The question needs to be why should one place a person who is going to do harm on their behalf?
Briefly flipping through past presidents’ terms which us president did not take action against Muslims whether at home or abroad? We saw Obama commit more heinous acts than Bush in terms of drone attacks on Pakistan and Afghanistan and the sponsoring of the secret detainment facilities in foreign countries, his war on terrorism was wide span, Bush using the 9/11 attacks to ravage Iraq transforming into rubble and corruption and the opening of Guantanamo Bay prison and his father before him in his grievous actions and Bill Clinton’s commands to plunder and attack Somalia. This is again a brief example of their viciousness and hatred towards Muslims and Islam. All these former presidents and the future president sweep their atrocious crimes against humanity under the so the called war on terrorism.
Who did not jump on the hate bandwagon of Islam in order to justify major crimes of humanity in Muslim lands and in the US... from proposed Shariah testing to spying on mosques and Muslim majority facilities to stricter immigration laws?
In brief lesser of two evils is a specific and highly detailed issue in Islam and the most importantly not to regard this with ease or simplicity because whether a person votes for Trump or Clinton the results will never be in favor for Muslims in the US or those living outside. Recapping the vote factor – one must be highly cautious whether or not to entrust either of them your vote to act in your name. Will you be able to handle the repercussions of this vote both today and tomorrow?
Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir by
Manal Bader