By This past week, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) decided to uphold Donald Trump’s Travel Ban, which is better known as the Muslim Ban 3.0. With this 5-4 decision in favor, they have essentially given more power to the Trump Administration to mistreat and take away the rights of immigrants.
However, this is not the first time nor the last time the courts have been on the wrong side of history.Previously, the courts have supported Japanese-American internment camps. In America, slavery was legal for years, segregation was legal, LGBTQ relations were illegal, and most of banning people by faith has been legal and used in several instances before. In the words of Justice Sotomayor, the court “merely replaces one gravely wrong decision with another.”
This is not the first time nor the last time the courts have been on the wrong side of history.
But, what does this verdict mean for Muslims across the nation and the world? This week’s verdict brought protesters by the thousands to Foley Square in NYC to support immigrants and Muslims alike. Protesters carried signs saying No Ban, No Wall, No Raids, NY is for All, and chanted Muslims are welcome here.
One protester spoke words that hit home, “I think right now Trump is winning in his racist struggle against immigrants, and we’re all going to have to resist it very hard.”
It is quite paradoxical that SCOTUS v. Korematsu decision was ultimately overturned considering the current ongoing immigration crisis which is only worsened with this travel ban. Today’s society almost looks like a glimpse into the not so distant past. The general consensus was that we have moved on from those mistakes, and will not be the nation to make said mistakes over again, and yet here we are, with the executive branch doing just that.
When it comes to down to the heart of it, I have few words to express just how heart-wrenching this decision is, because after numerous fights this could’ve been the end all, but instead it seems as if it isn’t the end all, but just the beginning.
As I sat in my office when news of the decision broke, I could think of nothing but the families being torn apart by this ban and how they had hope until now; what was to come of these separated families? What of the refugees who are escaping war-torn countries and just want to live? What of people who merely want better lives, people who are chasing the American Dream?
The fight is far from over, y’all. It is time for the Muslim ummah and its allies to stand together, for the sisters to don their hijabs with pride, and for the nation to know it has made a wrong decision.
After all, this is what my father did; he left his homeland in hope of a better future for his children in this nation, and thus I am granted the privileges I have today for his sacrifice. But what of the fathers whose children are still suffering for they are prevented from being united? I lay in bed all night, tossing and turning, thinking of what the fates had for us after such a heart-wrenching decision came down, and was met with nothing but terror.
But, I got out of bed this morning and what was I met with? Determination in the mirror, because the fight is far from over, y’all. It is time for the Muslim ummah and its allies to stand together, for the sisters to don their hijabs with pride, and for the nation to know it has made a wrong decision.
In the Quran it says that when the believers were defeated and worn down, they questioned when Allah’s victory was, and Allah replies with “Allah’s victory is near.” Indeed, brothers and sisters, we will prevail, and our victory will come someday, sooner rather than later.