President-elect Joe Biden is set to make good on a promise made to Muslim Americans in the days leading up to the election.
The promise was that he would put an end to the “vile” Muslim ban on his first day in office as President of the United States.
The ban was instituted by President Donald Trump during his first month in office in January 2017, under which immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries were barred from entering the United States.
In June this year, in a video speech to Engage Action, an advocacy group for Muslim Americans, Biden said that Muslims were the first to suffer attacks under the Trump administration.
He said under Trump’s rule, an “unconscionable rise” in Islamophobia was witnessed.
He went on to quote a Hadith of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) that instructs: “Whoever among you sees a wrong, let him change it with his hand; and if he is not able to do so, then let him change it with his tongue; and if he is not able to do so, then with his heart.”
Biden said: “So many of you are living this teaching in your own communities every day, joining your faith and your principles with the American principles that are consistent, actions that [make] life better for your families, for your neighbours through service, advocacy work, and preaching peace.”
The Democratic nominee said that Muslims deserve a president and an administration that will work with them and support them in these efforts instead of scapegoating them to advance a “xenophobic agenda”.
“If I have the honour of being president, together we can work to right the wrongs, and see our world better, with our hearts, with our hands, with our votes,” Biden said.
He called upon Muslims in America to join him in rooting out such “poison” through their votes.
He is set to be sworn in on January 20, 2021.
