Unworkable?

Submitted by Peter Chew (United States), Dec 12, 2015 at 12:36

"Islam is not a permanent identity like skin color. Nothing prevents Muslims from renouncing Islam or converting to another religion."

I agree that the biggest problem with Trump's formulation may be unworkability. It might sound good to Trump supporters but are we going to have a Bible test on the green visa waiver forms filled out by non-residents from visa waiver countries on the plane? Or if not a Bible test, a signed statement that the person is not a Muslim? How would we check for taqiya?

But I'm afraid the unworkability problem may apply just as much, or perhaps even more, to the formulation "ban Islamists", for the very reason Dr. Pipes stated (and I quoted above): nothing prevents non-Islamist Muslims from becoming Islamists, and in fact this would be the group presumably most at risk of doing so.

If, as recently as 20-30 years ago, the USA applied a religious test to immigrants from the USSR (see my other comment "Unconstitutional?"), giving preference to Jews and Christians, then why can we not do so again? Perhaps, for all the appearances of unworkability of Trump's approach, we could look to our own experience for how to limit Muslim immigration that might be the Trojan horse for current or budding Islamists?

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