Morocco World News with agencies
Morocco World News with agencies
New York, August 30, 2012
Conservative Arizona Republican Congressional candidate, Gabriela Saucedo Mercer’s remark in which she claims that people in the Middle East ” aim only at causing harm to Americans” sparked a debate.
This remark was made in an interview during which the Republican candidate announced that the authorities arrested 25,000 illegal immigrants, from Mexico.
During the interview, she lashed out at Muslim illegal immigrants, saying that “those people, their only goal in life is to cause harm to the United States, so why do we want them here, either legally or illegally?”
In June Arizona approved debatable “show-your-papers” measure, which aims at cracking down on illegal immigration. The measure came into being after the tireless efforts made by Republican Governor Jan Brewer in 2010.
According to Backers, the policy was highly recommended, particularly because of the federal government’s failure to maintain the state’s shaky border with Mexico
Being opposed to the immigration crackdown, Grijalva issued a statement where he criticized Mercer for her “reckless hate speech”. In the meantime, he advised Mercers’ proponents to ‘withdraw’ their staunch support.
“Anyone who continues to support her campaign should be asked whether they want someone with her views in Congress,” he said in a statement.
At this point, the first Muslim American elected to Congress, Rep. Keith Ellison, expressed his disgruntlement about Mercer’s “decision to inject division and fear” into the Congressional race.
Mercer was quoted by a newspaper as saying that “Grijalva must be scared now.”For Mercer, the policy Grijalva is following will sooner or later bring about more hatred and repugnance among illegal immigrants.”
The American-Arab Anti Discrimination Committee, a non-sectarian civil rights and civil liberties group, also weighed into the debate, slamming Mercer’s choice of words, which it said “once again exemplifies the bigotry and racism rampant within the Republican party, and politics as a whole.”
This statement is not alien to the Republican Party’s rhetoric. This party, which harbors the ideology of the Evangelicals, sees Muslims as the biggest threat to the United States.
This anti-Islam stance was on display during the Republican Convention, when the leaders of this party invited the representative of faiths to speak at the convention except for an American-Muslim Imam.
As pointed out by Dean Obeidallah in its editorial published on CNN, “certain Republican leaders have stoked the flames of hate toward American Muslims, and other minorities, as a political tool to motivate people to support their cause.”
A Recent Gallup survey found that 89% of the Republican Party is white.
A recent poll found that 62% of Obama voters view American Muslims favorably, but only 34% of Romney voters shared that positive outlook.
