Some religious leaders in Milwaukee are condemning President Trump’s 90-day ban on immigrants from seven Muslim-majority nations.
The faith leaders expressed their concerns Sunday at an interfaith gathering the local Ahamdiyya Muslim Community coordinated at Humboldt Park.
While the event was planned long before Trump signed his executive order on Friday, the ban - and the massive protests it has sparked - were on many minds.
Imam Faran Rabbani said he believes the ban is unconstitutional. "The United States Constitution does not provide for any kind of bias against any people based on their religion, and clearly this is based on religion. The seven countries that have been banned by the Trump administration are clearly Muslim-majority countries,” Rabbani said.
Regarding the thousands of people who have been protesting the executive order, Rabbani said, "I as a Muslim, I personally am against any kind of protests, but to see so many people stand up in unity against any kind of injustice I must say it is refreshing. It is refreshing and it gives me hope as long as they’re not causing any kind of damage to the country, as far as there are no violence or violent acts as a result of these protests."
Rabbi Noah Chertkoff of Congregation Shalom in Milwaukee said that in speaking about the foundations of his faith, "So much of what we believe speaks to the idea of justice and faith (and) is based on empathy. For a people who have experienced the Holocaust, the idea that we would turn refugees away is particularly difficult for the Jewish community, I believe.
"Our greatest task in life is to learn the lessons of history and to break that cycle. It is my great hope that, as a nation, we would understand that letting in refugees is actually an act of strength and not of weakness," Chertkoff said.
Reverend Reirin Gumbel of the Milwaukee Zen Center called the executive order very upsetting. "I feel that we need to have respect for everybody and not put them all in category like terrorists. So this is very scary. As Buddhists, I feel we are supporting everybody; all beings are one, and we’re all connected, so we need to help each other as much as we can," Gumbel said.
