US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks at the Family Leadership Summit in Ames, Iowa, United States, July 18, 2015. REUTERS/Jim Young
KALEEM KAWAJA
[dropcap]U[/dropcap]S Presidential candidate Donald Trump’s attitude towards Muslims reminds us of the abhorrent attitude of Nazis towards the Jews that resulted in World War II, one of the most traumatic tragedies that mankind has faced over the millenniums.
Trump’s statement suggesting that US put a ban on the entry of Muslims into US is very galling and absurd as now Muslims are an integral part of the American society. Not to mention America’s immense trade and relationship with most Muslim countries. More than anything such hateful remarks hurt US itself.
Indeed since mid-1960s a very large number of highly educated and trained enterprising Muslims have moved to US from South Asian countries (India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh) alone. A very large number of highly skilled Muslim physicians have provided yeoman medical services to non-Muslim Americans, working in hospitals, clinics and US military medical facilities, saving lives, helping the sick get better, helping children grow into productive American citizens.
A large number of highly educated Muslim professors in a variety of science, technology and business fields have provided education and training to the non-Muslim American youth in a large number of colleges throughout continental US. Similarly in all fields of science, technology, industry and military a huge number of highly skilled and educated Muslim immigrants from South Asia have been the major workforce staffing the corporations, industries, research centers, manufacturing centers etc.
Visit the Silicon Valley and northwestern US and see that a huge number of South Asian Muslim Information Technology specialists who moved to US in the last fifty years, helped the crucial development of major US corporations and start-up companies and their innovative products.
US has been the big beneficiary as it spent almost nothing on the education of these highly educated Muslim professionals who completed most of their education in their home countries before moving to US. But for these South Asian Muslims émigrés, US economy would have remained rather small, as the number of émigrés from Europe to US in the last fifty years has been considerably smaller.
At least three Muslim noble laureate scientists, Abdus Salam, Ahmed Zewail and Aziz Samcar moved to US from their countries, conducted path-breaking scientific research and taught at prestigious universities bringing laurels to US.
