Media Release
Turnbull Sees in Trump’s Anti-Islam Policies a Reflection of his own

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and other government ministers yesterday effectively endorsed the blatantly discriminatory, anti-Muslim executive order of US President Donald Trump, which suspends refugee intake and places various restrictions on migrants from Muslim-majority countries. Hizb ut Tahrir Australia condemns such policies of Trump and the Australian Government’s support thereof, emphasising that:

1. Policies such as this, which come as no surprise from the new Trump administration, are not an aberration of US policy when it comes to Muslims; they are but an extension of the same “war on terror” narrative and agenda of the previous Obama and Bush administrations. It is telling that the seven countries targeted – Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen – include those devastated by US bombing and invasion in recent times. This shows that the primary cause of unjust violence and instability around the world is western foreign policy. “War on terror” measures such as these merely shift blame for the repercussions of western state terrorism onto its victims.

2. The Australian Government’s shameful support for such policies is also not surprising, given its record of blind support for similarly inhumane policies in the past, of the US and “Israel” in particular. Indeed, Turnbull, Dutton and Morrison see in Trump’s executive order the reflection of their own callous treatment of asylum seekers. Instead of condemning Trump’s order, Turnbull went on about how great the US-Australia relationship was, deflecting questions about the order itself on the pretext that it is “not my job to comment” on the policies of other countries. In the last year alone, he has done exactly that on multiple occasions, on the policies of China, North Korea, Russia and the Philippines.

3. It should go without saying that such measures, which explicitly demonise and target a particular group, are what push individuals to react violently. On top of the original aggression in the form of wars, support for dictators, and economic exploitation, such “counter-terrorism” measures only add fuel to the fire. Thus, it is those who adopt and implement such policies – and those who support them – that should be held responsible for the violent reactions such policies call out for, such as the deplorable attack on a mosque in Quebec on Sunday.

4. We commend Muslims globally, the overwhelmingly vast majority of whom have shown great restraint in the face of almost two full decades of open oppression and hostile policies by America and her allies. We remind them to stay strong in what will be increasingly difficult times, to turn to Allah, first and foremost, in standing for Islam, adhering to its noble standards of conduct, increasing their political activism and beseeching the support of Allah. Now is the time, more than ever, to show that far from being the problem, Islam is the solution to the chaos the western secular liberal leadership has led the world to.

Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir in Australia