Trump should listen to int'l concerns: British Activist

The following is an excerpt of interview with Qureshi:

Q. What can you make of the recent US executive order banning Muslims to the US?

A. It is clearly something that follows from what he clearly said during his campaign, a ban on Muslims coming into the country from very specific countries in the Middle East; and his executive order made that operational in a way that I don’t think anyone could have thought.

It is interesting for example that the countries that he has targeted through this executive order, none of them contributed to any of the assailants to the 9/11 nor any other terrorist attack on America, since 1980.

Quite honestly the most recent terrorist attack on American soul has been home grown anyway.

Q. Does such a policy help fighting terrorism?

A. I like to think he is listening to the huge global concern shown from his words that you have seen throughout not just America but in Europe and the rest of the world.

For example this week in Whitehall we had tens of thousands of people, some say we had more people there than his inauguration in Washington.

I hope and sincerely wish to listen, but knowing who he is, I think the only opportunity would be to get more forceful and will only certainly be at the state visit he is anticipated to make this summer.

There he will hear a very strong message that Islamophobia prejudices that he exposes are not tolerated here at all and we stand against what we regard as British values.

Q. Tell us about Saturday’s demonstration in London?

A. The demonstration is from the American embassy to downing street, it starts at 11 o’clock. The organizations involved are Stop the War Coalition, Stand Up against Racism, MCB and numerous other Muslim organizations. It would be an opportunity to continue the outcry against Trumps’ executive order proposal and no doubt, there will be a lot of people attended.

Q. Is it possible to make any case against Trump's executive order in the UN Human Right Council?

A. I am not sure about the UN route, but I am entrée in what is happening in America with many lawyers getting involved in the affair; I am sorry to hear that the acting attorney general has been fired effectively by Donald Trump in light of her hesitancy in applying the executive order. Clearly she had much concerns whether it is legally possible to do this, given how the American constitution confirm about people’s right to practice their stay and individual freedoms

Q. What is your opinion about British policy by continuing to their cooperation with the US?

A. I think Prime minister has deluded herself by thinking that running a red carpet and tolerating such obscene views and opinions will help her get a very good free trade deal, but I think the whole premise of this is completely wrong and we need to deal with the fact that we think this is a special relationship but the Americans don’t.

For example her trip to the US last week didn’t even get on the front pages of the main stream American press and media.

I think it clearly shows the American priorities they play along with it when we are there but once we are out of town it’s a different show altogether.
I am very wary of the nature of the special relationship; Stop the War is saying no to the special relationship.

The Stop the War Coalition (StWC; informally Stop the War) is a British group established on 21 September 2001, shortly after the September 11 attacks, to campaign against what it believes are unjust wars.
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