Muslim Immigration Essay

Sunday morning, Dec 7, 1941, Two-hundred Japanese planes flew over Pearl Harbor, deploying torpedoes and bombs as the flew. Two - thousand and three - hundred were killed and many more were injured. American citizens were dumbfounded and horror-struck.

Soon, the Japanese began to be feared as dangerous enemies - and not just the Japanese in Japan -those within the United States as well. By February, President Franklin D. Roosevelt had signed the Executive Order 9066 allowing the rounding - up of and incarceration of all Japanese persons within the U.S. Men, women, children, immigrants and citizens alike were placed in "camps" made of racetrack barns, barbed-wire fences, and daily roll calls. 

Finally, near the close of the war in 1944 the Japanese were allowed to go home. But the scars of their humiliation were still deeply impressed upon their minds. This part of American history is not pleasant to remember. It cost faithful Japanese citizens their dignity and respect, it cost the U.S government a lot of embarrassment and money and it continues to be an aching wound bleeding its blood on the pages of history. Nevertheless, mistakes must be remembered so we can learn from them.

I fear we are on the verge of making a similar mistake again. Except this time, instead of sending people to racetrack barns and barbed wire fences, we are sending people off to firing squads, torture, and death. How? By turning refugees away simply because their religion scares us. 

I strongly believe that no nation has the right to turn a refugee away simply based on what he or she believes. A person's religious belief should have no baring on whether or not an individual can live a safe, protected life.

And let's be honest. When we talk about letting refugees seek asylum based on their professed faith, we are not talking about Catholics and Buddhists. We really don't care about their faith, and the media definitely doesn't. We care about Muslims and their Islamic faith. 

I can hear some of you now, bringing up your concern about ISIS/Al-Qaeda extremism and recent mass killings. These are valid concerns. The Japanese did bomb Pearl Harbor, Muslims have been killing Americans. But even during the internment of the Japanese the Federal government knew that fewer than 3% of the U. S’s entire Japanese population could potentially pose a threat to national security. The FBI also had technology available that could monitor these individual's activities. The internment of the Japanese was simply a Band-Aid remedy to soothe a fear-stricken people. 

That is exactly what banning Muslim's from immigrating to the United States is. Again, we are trying to cover up our fear with a psychological Band-Aid. The only thing that is going to be helped is going to be our prejudice.

As Christians, you and I have an obligation before God to:

"Seek justice, 

Rebuke the oppressor,

Defend the fatherless,

Plead for the widow."

-Isaiah 1:18

The definition of a refugee - the kind of Muslims we are turning away - is, "A person who flees to a foreign country or power to escape danger of persecution. (Merriam-Webster)" 

We as Christians need to step up to the plate and by the enabling of God's power help our country re-open the doors of promise to all those in need. "Freely you have received, freely give." Matt 10:8

How can we do this? In the Pledge of Allegiance, we pledge:

"To the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

We can take this pledge of "liberty and justice for all" seriously by talking about the issue of Muslim immigration with our friends, we can vote for representatives that support non-discriminatory immigration, and we can pray for the knowledge of God to show us how to love our Muslim brothers and sisters.

Someday, when Jesus comes in the clouds of glory to welcome His children home, you will want to be able to hear the words: "Inasmuch as you have done it to the least of these my brethren, you have done it to Me." Matt 25:40.

Thank you.