Meet the Arab-American Muslim who supports Trump!
By Tarek Ali Ahmad
Al Arabiya English
You don’t come by a lot of Arab Muslims who support US presidential candidate Donald Trump these days. With a cloud of controversy following his campaign trail, Trump has gathered a mass of hate and dislike from Arabs and Americans alike. One person that stands out is Lebanese-American Nedal Tamer, who immigrated to the United States from Lebanon in 1997, and is a full-on Trump supporter.
“If you love this country [USA], then you support this man. I will say this to any Arabic Muslim; if you love this country then you support this man,” Tamer told Al Arabiya English.
Tamer stands out from the rest of the Arab-Americans awaiting the fate of the presidential election in November. The republican nominee has been a stand-out figure in the media for his direct and outspoken opinions, whether it be due to “calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States” or building a wall between USA and Mexico to keep the “rapists” and “drug dealers” out.
Asked how could he be supportive of a candidate that is perceived to be discriminative against Arabs and Muslims, and who is calling for barriers to entry to the US for them.
Tamer responds that Arabs are no in position to complain about discrimination “In my opinion, we [Arabs] are the most discriminatory out of all people against other groups.”
I will say this to any Arabic Muslim; if you love this country then you support this man
Nedal Tamer
He also believes that what Trump is calling for is “normal.”
“You want to give your daughter to a guy, he wants to marry her, you have to look to his family, what he does, you want to find out if he’s okay…the guy [Trump] is talking normally,” he added
Tamer feels that Trump’s business background can offer true change to the country and its economy, saying “he’s a great businessman, he’s powerful, and he loves his country.”
“We should appreciate him because he’s not going to let any group affect our future or our kid’s future here.”
An immigrant against immigration
Tamer was born in the southern Lebanese village of Ansar, located in a Shiite dominated area, where he grew up with his family before moving to the United Arab Emirates to work.
In 1997, Tamer immigrated to the United States and started working in real estate and construction, before gaining permanent citizenship, and settling down in Dearborn, Michigan with his wife and four children.
“We don’t want these groups to come in here, or anyone with these refugee groups to come in here, and create any problem here,” Tamer said.
“We’re [Arabs] going to pay the price, and that’s why the Muslim community and the Arab community have got to understand, every time we step forwards, we take 10 steps back because of these problems.”
Trump has always had a way with words when it comes to terrorist attacks, such as the ones in Paris and Belgium, reactions. Polls show that his acceptance ratings rise dramatically after every attack.
His reactions to such events spark fear among the masses – evident with his tirade after the Brussels attacks, where he denounced the immigration policies regarding asylum seekers in Europe saying, “They’re coming in by the thousands and just watch what happens — I’m a pretty good prognosticator — just watch what happens over the years. It won’t be pretty.”
This mentality is prominent among his supporters, and Tamer agrees with the republican nominee on this front.
“The country [Paris] opened the door, they helped the refugees, they helped everybody, they let you build mosques, they let you practice everything, and you’re coming and you want to kill their people.” Tamer said.
Business-minded approach
Many of the real estate tycoon’s followers believe his non-political background and business-minded approach are what the United States needs.
“The idea that you have somebody out of the political system – this isn’t going to happen again, it’s a dream to have a business man becoming a president and make a major change to the country,” the Lebanese-American said.
“I think anyone who will come from the political system, the country will stay the same and go to worse and worse – This man has great ideas, how he’s going to get back the economy, he’s funding his own campaign, he’s not in it for the money, and he’s not making deals under the table.”
90%of the Arab-American population to think the way he (Trump) does, but is too afraid to speak out
Nedal Tamer
Tamer believes he is an outspoken minority among a silent majority, where he considers “90% of the Arab-American population to think the way he (Trump) does, but is too afraid to speak out.”
With Trump coming closer and closer to winning the republican presidential nomination, the US sits divided on what a Trump-presidency would look like, but Tamer and his family of five are not worried at all.
Source: english.alarabiya.net