Washington, Feb 7, 2017: "Significant harm" is inflicted on Muslim Americans by US President Donald Trump's travel ban on nationals from seven Muslim-majority countries, over half a dozen groups representing the community have told a court, urging it to cancel the "unconstitutional" order.
According to the legal brief filed by the groups before US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, "The Executive Order is an unconstitutional infringement upon the rights of Muslims. It inflicts significant harm on the American Muslim community and American Muslim professionals."
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"It threatens American Muslims' ability to practice their professions in the United States; it threatens American Muslims who live, work, travel and have families abroad; and it subjects Muslims to a damaging stigma," collective legal filing added.
Muslim Advocates, American Muslim Health Professionals, Council for the Advancement of Muslim Professionals, Islamic Medical Association of North America, Muslim Urban Professionals, National Arab American Medical Association and Network of Arab-American Professionals are prominent among the groups.
The organisations urged the Court to reject the Government's Motion for extraordinary interlocutory relief and said Muslim Americans were going through an additional injury as a result of the stigma that has attached to the community in an unfair and irrational way.
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Contrary to the misconception propagated by the "Muslim ban", the presence of Muslims in America is not a threat to American security. Studies have proven Muslims have been a part of America since the founding of the nation, when 10—15 per cent of slaves forcibly brought to America were Muslim, the filing pointed out.
"Muslims have expended their blood, sweat, and tears building and defending the United States," it informed, adding that more than 5,000 Muslims are associated with the US military services, and many have sacrificed their lives in battlefields to defend American interests.
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"They also provide necessary healthcare, educate our nation's children, create jobs, and contribute innovation that is an essential driver of our nation's economic growth. Today, Muslims represent one per cent of the US population," the legal brief concluded.
– prepared by Durba Mandal of NewsGram. Twitter: @dubumerang