There are striking similarities between the immigration standards of today and those of the past. Just as the new US immigration executive order gives priority to religious minorities in Muslim majority countries, the United States also gave preference to Christian Syrian immigrants in the early 20th century. Similarly, colonial French Algeria only issued citizenship to Algerian Muslims if they denounced Islam; Christian and Jewish Algerians were given citizenship priority. Even though Christianity, Judaism, and Islam are closely related, Islam has been seen as less "white" than its monotheistic cousins (Between Arab and White, Sarah Gualtieri). Because of this perception, Muslim, Jewish, and Christian immigrants and refugees who come from the same city and have the same backgrounds may have separate citizenship status based on religion alone. It's unfortunate that this association between citizenship and religion still exists today, and we must work toward religious understanding to be more united as a nation.
-Elle
It is sad
ReplyDeleteThis reminds me of a quote from Paul Ryan used in a previous blog post: “This is not a religious test, and it is not a ban on people of any religion … This order does not affect the vast majority of Muslims in the world.” This is a controversial statement, considering immigration policies today give priority to religious minorities. Since the major religion in the Middle East is Islam, the term "religious minority" is synonymous with "non-Muslims."
ReplyDelete- Allison Kosic
This is an important note to make. This country is supposed to be about religious freedom, and having your religion impact whether or not you can enter this country goes against that idea.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your closing statement. It is alarming that a country whose constitution champions religious liberty has such a proclivity for religious discrimination.
ReplyDeleteStatistic discrimination is rough
ReplyDeleteI just want to know when people will begin to become more accepting over cultural diversity and realize that someone who has a different skin color or practices a different religion from what you practice is not scary. They are simply different, and there is absolutely no need for discrimination based on race, ethnicity, religion, cultural identity, gender, and the like. People are people, and just because someone is different does not make them a bad person or a threat.
ReplyDeleteThe US has had pretty strong anti-immigrant sentiments for over a couple hundred years, pretty much since John Adams issued the alien and sedition acts that were an attempt to halt immigration to hurt Thomas Jefferson and his party that mainly had poor and immigrant voters
ReplyDelete-Steven Rayburn
The U.S. has freedom of religion yet still uses religious discrimination... seems unconstitutional.
ReplyDeleteOlive McKay