“If you force Muslims to register, we will all register as Muslims” said Feminist icon Gloria Steinem.
“I stand ready to register as Muslim in #solidarity“ said the Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.
“I stand ready to register as a Muslim in solidarity if it comes to that” said actress Mayim Bialik.
I don’t know if it is, somehow, suppose to bring comfort or relief to Muslims in this nation for the support. And perhaps, on the surface, it may very well seem to be.
But it’s not.
It’s not because this isn’t the first time this has happened in our nation. No I’m not talking about the Japanese internment.
The year was 2002. The program was called NSEERS. National Security Entry-Exit Registration System.
What was it, you ask? Essentially, it required non-citizens, non-residents in the US already and those entering the United States from certain countries, predominantly Muslim countries of course, to register in the U.S., undergo more thorough interrogation and be fingerprinted. The only country on that list that wasn’t predominantly Muslim was North Korea.
Who stood up for Muslims then? Which non-Muslims signed up as Muslims then as an act of defiance? And even if they did, what difference would it have made?
We don’t need just words of solidarity. We need action. Otherwise, just as we passively let him become POTUS, we will start to face deplorable consequences such as this Muslim registry.
What’s next? Segregated water fountains? Separate seating on public transit for people of color?
First, he is coming for the Muslims. But the question is, will it end there? Who will be next?
We must stand up and act. Contact your congress member. Call your senator.
