Mixed reactions to Trump win from American Muslims

Washington - Council on American Islamic Relations invites Trump to meet and "have a serious and deep conversation".

American Muslims have reacted with mixed emotions - ranging from fear to acceptance and even happiness - to news that Donald Trump will be the 45th president of the United States.
In the months leading up to Tuesday's vote, Trump's comments regarding Muslims - which ranged from claims he saw them celebrating after 9/11 to a call for a ban on all Muslims entering the country - repeatedly drew condemnation from Muslims and non-Muslims alike.
On Wednesday, feelings were mixed as the reality of a Trump administration set in.
Marylander Tariq Maalouf said that he was "extremely concerned" at what a Trump administration would mean for American Muslims.
"It's hard to tell how serious he takes some of the things he's said," he told Khaleej Times. "And not knowing that makes me a bit nervous."
Shahed Amanullah, a Virginia-based former State Department employee who cast his vote for Hillary Clinton, noted that "everything has been transformed."
"The political map has been transformed, and what is acceptable political discourse has been transformed," he said. "Our common sense of understanding and decency has been transformed, and our sense of our 'tribe' has been transformed. We used to be the tribe of America, and now we are the tribe of different parts of America."
"We increasingly look at 'the other' in this country as not our co-citizen, but as an interloper in our territory," he added.
However, despite his concerns about the state of America, Amanullah said he doesn't expect more incendiary remarks from Trump regarding Muslims.
"I believe, somewhat cynically, that he engaged in that behavior because it riled and excited his base," he said. "I don't believe he feels the need to continue that now that he's in office. The trouble is that while Donald Trump may be able to turn that switch off, a lot of people in society don't know how to turn that switch off."
Amanullah's comments were echoed by Fred Nezami, a New Yorker who voted for Trump.
"Since Trump has become President-Elect, he has projected an unusually presidential style when speaking or tweeting," he said. "I believe that once he actually enters the Oval Office and sits down on the executive chair, the weight and burden of the job title will hit him and he will realize that he is representing all Americans, not just those who voted for him, and that he will tone the rhetoric down. "
"I'm delighted that Donald Trump won the election but I thought this was going to be a close race, but the Electoral College has proven otherwise," Nezami added. "Trump's ability to win most of the swing states and even some traditionally Democrat states shows just how badly we as Americans want to see a shakeup in Washington."
Reach out to us, Trump told 
At a Wednesday press conference in Washington DC, Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) executive director Nihad Awad, invited Trump to meet and "have a serious and deep conversation about the future of this country and how we can work together."
"Definitely we will be taking steps towards reaching out to him" Awad added. "But as the elected leader we expect him to reach out, especially to the communities that have felt threatened by his rhetoric, not only the Muslim community."
Another American Muslim leader Kristin Szremski of American Muslims for Palestine, said that Muslims "are longstanding citizens and we expect to be treated as such."
"We should not be singled out, subjected to surveillance and otherwise marginalized by threats to close our mosques, make us carry special IDs or to ban Muslims from entering the United States," she said.
bernd@khaleejtimes.com

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