Take Two translates the day’s headlines for Southern California, making sense of the news and cultural events that affect our lives. Produced by Southern California Public Radio and broadcast from October 2012 – June 2021. Hosted by A Martinez.
Last week's attacks in San Bernardino and the reaction to them since have created a new level of concern throughout Muslim communities living in the United States.
Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump introduced a new element of controversy Monday, saying that, if elected, he would ban all Muslims from entering the country.
At a rally in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, he reiterated his position:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viDffWUjcBA
The Obama administration’s stance has been markedly different. In a statement delivered Sunday from the Oval Office, President Barack Obama said that America must “enlist Muslim communities as some of our strongest allies.”
https://youtu.be/LpbJfi9N2WE?t=10m
For an in-depth look at the conversations taking place in the Southern California Muslim community, Take Two assembled a roundtable of young female leaders.
Marwa Abdelghani, an outreach fellow with the Muslim Public Affairs Council in Los Angeles, says many women in her community fear retaliation following the San Bernardino shooting.
Tasbeeh Herwees, a staff writer with Good Magazine, says that Trump’s recent proposal will only lead to more aggression against Muslims.
Muslema Purmul, a scholar-in-residence at the SAFA Center, an organization that promotes education about Islam, is also campus chaplain at USC and UCLA. She says now is the time for all Americans to come together, regardless of faith.
Press the blue play button above to listen to the roundtable discussion in its entirety.
(Correction: An earlier version stated that Muslema Purmul said America’s Muslims can no longer be passive. It has been fixed. We regret the error.)