The White House has reacted angrily to Donald Trumps bigoted anti Muslim remarks while Twitter users showing support for Muslim student’s tweet poking fun at Republican presidential front-runner.
News Desk
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has become a figure of ridicule on social media after he called for the U.S. to ban the entry of all Muslims.
Almost immediately after the real estate mogul made the policy statement, he was mocked on social media and not only by other Republican candidates.
A tweet by Firas Alkhateeb garnered a lot of attention.
"Does anyone know if the concentration camps Trump is planning for us Muslims will have WiFi?," he said.
Users of the micro-blogging site quickly showed support for Alkhateeb by retweeting his message nearly 700 times, liking it north of 600 times and responding in like fashion.
"If they do, I'm converting," Alaskan journalist Brian O'Connor said in response.
"So it's like 1960s Ohio, but with wifi?," O'Connor added, referring to discrimination faced by blacks during the decade.
A Methodist pastor and retired Navy chaplain from Boston also responded to Alkhateeb.
"Can I go? I'm not a Muslim but my Wi-Fi is crap,” said Pastor Williams.
Sandra Milena said she would join the camp if she would be able to get the W-Fi connection, adding a smile at the end of her tweet.
Frank McConnell suggested that the real estate mogul and Republican presidential front-runner will not be so kind, but instead is "going to turn the Internet off for Muslims".
Some feared they may become Trump’s next target for espousing liberal ideas.
"I hope so because as a liberal, I am probably not far behind you," said one user named mfsnyder.
Trump may prevent Muslim entry to the US but one user, Old Darkness, believes online access will be available.
"Behave, under King Trump you'll get dialup and be forced to thank him every morning!," the user tweeted.
Alkhateeb is a student and teacher at the Dural Qasuim school in Illinois. He also runs the Lost Islamic History website that "aims to educate all people, regardless of religious affiliation about the story of Muslims of the past," according to the site.
The U.S. announced it would accept 10,000 Syrian refugees during the current fiscal year that began Oct. 1.
Since announcing the policy, a large chorus of opponents, including some Republican presidential hopefuls, have suggested what amounts to a religious test to prevent Syrian Muslims from entering the country.
But Trump’s recent call goes one step further as it seeks to bar all Muslims, regardless of nationality, from entry.
Trump's statement came after 14 victims were killed last week by a married Muslim couple in San Bernardino, California.
Federal authorities said the attack is being investigated as terrorism.
Trump, with the hashtag #Trump's Muslim, is currently trending on Twitter.
White House thumps Trump
The White House angrily challenged Republicans to denounce their party's presidential frontrunner Donald Trump Tuesday, claiming his "toxic" plan to ban Muslims from entering the country should disqualify him from office.
Painting Trump as a "carnival barker" with "fake hair" whose campaign belonged in the "dustbin of history," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Trump's plan to refuse even American-born Muslims entry to the United States were patently unconstitutional.
"What Donald Trump said yesterday disqualifies him from serving as president," said Earnest sharply, describing the 69-year-old's comments variously as "offensive" and "toxic."
The unusually strident language from the White House podium reflects concern about the impact of Trump's comments in the wake of a mass shooting that killed 14 in California that is being blamed on Islamic extremists.
But it also suggests that the White House spies a political opportunity ahead of the 2016 election.
Earnest was quick to pounce on prominent Republicans who condemned Trump's remarks -- including rival presidential contenders Marco Rubio, John Kasich, Chris Christie and Jeb Bush -- saying they would still support him if he were the party nominee.
The "Grand Old Party" has long held fast to late president Ronald Reagan's so-called 11th commandment: "Thou shalt not speak ill of any fellow Republican."
Earnest dared them to break that rule and challenge Trump, or risk being tarred with the same brush.
"What he said is disqualifying and any Republican who's too fearful of the Republican base to admit it, has no business serving as president either," he said.
That poses a dilemma for Republicans who may have little love for Trump: refuse to withdraw support and risk being branded a bigot, or withdraw support with the political risks that entails.
The Guardian - Trump comment is "lynch mob politics"
In an op-ed piece in The Guardian, an editorial piece also said that Mr Trump’s announcement following the San Bernardino shootings that he wants to bar all Muslims from entering America is was shocking and that it was edging close to being lynch mob politics. Claiming that it was unconstitutional on grounds of religious freedom not only would his rhetoric It would have a devastating effect on American community relations (a high proportions of US Muslims are African-Americans) and on the nation’s standing but that for all cause and effect it would be unworkable on any level.
