News / Interviews

US visa ban aimed to appease Israel not to fight terrorism

Sunday, 29 January 2017 6:49 PM [ Last Update: Sunday, 29 January 2017 6:49 PM ]

Protesters gather to denounce President Donald Trump's executive order that bans immigrants and travelers from certain countries, at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport on January 28, 2017 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by AFP)

US President Donald Trump's sweeping ban on people from seven Muslim-majority countries has sparked widespread censure. On Friday, Trump signed an executive order to suspend refugee arrivals and impose tough controls on travelers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. Iran says the US’s decision to restrict arrivals from the Islamic Republic shows the baselessness of the Washington’s claims of only having issues with the government in Tehran, adding that the move is the greatest gift to terrorists and their supporters.

Massoud Shadjareh, head of the Islamic Human Rights Commission, believes US visa ban is clearly promoting the demonization of Muslims, adding that it has to do a lot more with appeasing Israel and extremist groups rather than fighting terrorism.

“I have to reemphasize that this has got nothing to do with fighting terrorism, is actually trying to create demonization of a particular section of the Muslim community and indeed fueling the environment of hate,” the activist told Press TV in an interview on Sunday.

“What Trump is showing is that he is just friend of those extremist fascist ideology, which includes the Zionist state, includes Christian Zionists within the United States and those are the ones who are celebrating right now, a bunch of extremists and extremist ideology and this is just fueling that rather than any legitimized reason,” he added.

The rights activist said it was “really bizarre” that Iran has been included in this ban given the fact that it has been singly against acts of terrorism and has done more to fight Daesh than any other nation.

Shadjareh also asserted that there is really no reason to ban these seven countries when none of them have been involved in acts of terrorism in the United States.

However, he said, it is ironic that none of the countries, which have been involved in some way or another with acts of violence and terrorism in the United States – for example, Saudi Arabia – are included in the ban.

The activist further opined that the Trump administration is showing very clearly that it is not friend of “Iran, Muslims, and justice,” arguing that it is not even trying to create an environment where there could be a fight internationally and collectively against extremist Takfiri terrorists.

He concluded by saying that the international community should rise up against this ban and do not allow the legitimization of this “fascist behavior” by the United States.

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