Hundreds of activists rallied on Thursday in front of Donald Trump’s hotel in midtown New York City to condemn the Republican 2016 presidential candidate’s call to bar Muslims temporarily from enterin
Hundreds of activists rallied on Thursday in front of Donald Trump’s hotel in midtown New York City to condemn the Republican 2016 presidential candidate’s call to bar Muslims temporarily from entering the United States.
Chanting “Dump Trump” and “refugees welcome”, the protesters castigated Mr Trump’s comments.
“We are not asking for any favours,” Linda Sarsour of the Arab American Association of New York told the crowd. “We are asking for the basic respect and dignity that we all deserve here in the United States of America.”
Mr Trump’s statement, which has drawn widespread criticism both at home and abroad, came in response to the deadly shootings in San Bernardino, California, last week, in which a married Muslim couple described as “radicalised” by authorities killed 14 people. On Thursday, Mr Trump cancelled a planned trip to Israel amid the uproar.
Some protesters said Mr Trump’s comments, while more explicit, were not that far removed from statements by other politicians calling for restrictions on Syrian refugees who want to settle in the United States.
Others warned that Mr Trump’s divisive remarks were only intensifying a wave of Islamophobia.
“The damage he’s done is already very significant,” said Skanda Kadirgamar, 27, citing reports of increased threats against Muslims. “Donald Trump is here to pour gasoline onto those fires.” Some Muslims at the rally said they feared attacks and discrimination would increase in the wake of the shootings, much as they did following the September 11, 2001, attacks by Al Qaeda.
Meanwhile, the image and name of Mr Trump was gone on Friday from much of a Dubai golf course and housing development.
The disappearance of Mr Trump’s branding from the multi-billion-dollar development on the outskirts of Dubai comes as concerns over his comments grow in the Middle East, a region in which the businessman long has sought money-making opportunities.
Some of his deals appear to be in jeopardy, with the company behind the Trump Towers in Istanbul now saying it is “assessing” its partnership with the Republican presidential front-runner.
In Dubai, Mr Trump had a deal with Damac Properties to license his name and image for a housing project and two golf courses for an undisclosed sum. A billboard once showing Mr Trump golfing had been at Damac’s Akoya development, as well as an image of Mr Trump’s daughter Ivanka. All that remained was the board’s brown background, though another billboard declaring the development “The Beverly Hills of Dubai” still stood.
