Ahmad al-Farraj

By : Ahmad al-Farraj

American media outlets were enraged after President Donald Trump issued an executive order banning the citizens of seven countries from entering the US.

This decision was linked to his electoral promise to ban Muslims from entering the US, and this was the reason that Trump’s political fortunes rose and he gained popularity during the Republican Party’s preliminaries defeating prominent Republican figures, including Jeb Bush, Chris Christie, John Kasich and Ted Cruz.

The big surprise, however, was when he defeated Democrat presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. This defeat has now been documented by history, just like when Barack Obama won the presidential elections in 2008.

The American media insisted on linking the decision banning the citizens of seven countries from entering the US to the stance of Trump’s right-wing administration on Muslims – particularly to the stance of top strategist and mastermind Steve Bannon.

This was all part of the fierce campaign which Trump has being subjected to by the deep state ever since his historical victory.

Although we acknowledge that Trump’s administration is right-wing and has strict measures towards immigrants, the ban was related to security. The countries on the ban list are Muslim but according to intelligence community reports, they lack security vetting requirements. If a president other than Trump had taken this decision, the whole thing may have calmly passed.

Ahmad al-Farraj

Although we acknowledge that Trump’s administration is right-wing and has strict measures towards immigrants, the ban was related to security. The countries on the ban list are Muslim but according to intelligence community reports, they lack security vetting requirements. If a president other than Trump had taken this decision, the whole thing may have calmly passed.

Other presidents have made similar orders such as the outgoing Barack Obama who prevented Iraqi citizens from entering the US for several months.

You did not hear anyone talk about this back then and you will not hear anyone talk about it now.

Earlier this month, the US banned travelers on certain flights bound for the US from carrying electronic devices into the main cabin. The electronics gadgets which are not allowed include cameras, laptops and tablets while those allowed are cellular phones and medical devices.

The countries listed in this ban warmly accepted the decision considering it is related to security matters of a friendly state. If we examine this decision, we will realize it includes Muslim countries, just like Trump’s former executive order, but no one objected to it and the American media did not negatively comment on it.

Meida anger

So why did the media get angry over one executive order but kept silent over another when in both cases the decisions are related to Muslim countries?

Can we use this contradiction to confirm that the media is biased against Trump and his administration? Would the media and the leftists who oppose Trump have acted if Obama had taken a decision to prevent the citizens of some countries from entering the US? I don’t think the answer is that difficult.

According to some reports, Obama’ administration deported the largest number of illegal immigrants from the US. Did you hear about that? In brief, Trump’s administration has made many mistakes but it is also confronting fierce campaigns carried out by the American media which takes pride in being biased against a president who was elected via a democratic process.

Therefore, we must be careful regarding most of what is reported by the American media against President Trump!

Dr Ahmad al-Farraj is a Saudi writer with al-Jazirah daily. He holds a Masters degree in literature from the University of Indiana and a PhD in Linguistics from the University of Michigan. He was the Dean of the Arabic Language Institute in King Saud University and a member of the university’s council. He tweets under @amhfarraj

Disclaimer: Views expressed by writers in the Column section are their own and do not reflect RiyadhVision’s point-of-view.

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