On Monday, when President Donald Trump signed his revised executive order travel ban, Muslim-American comedian Dean Obeidallah joined Salon to talk about the challenges the Trump administration poses to Muslims in the day to day, especially children.
“There has been a spike in bullying,” Muslim-American comic Dean Obeidallah told Salon on Monday. “55% of Muslim students say they were bullied in the past year…and they say the bullying was done by their teachers! If your teacher is the one bullying you, who do you go to?” he wonders. “These students feel alone. The words of politicians can contribute to this,” says Obeidallah.
The revised travel ban continues to single out Muslims, in six countries which are Muslim-majority. The written content on the new ban is “a lot longer, and they go into the six countries and why they are banning people from these countries.”
Obeidallah, who Is a former attorney and a vocal critic of the president, hosts the only daily national radio show hosted by a Muslim American, on SiriusXM. “Politicians do inspire good, bad and really ugly things, as we’ve seen through our history, the Civil Rights Movement especially,” he said.
“There’s been such great interfaith work now – Muslims and Jews coming together to counter this kind of thing. We have each others’ backs standing against bigotry. In the Muslim community, we’re there for you. Be there for us. That’s my message, that’s my hope.”
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