The New York Times editorial board thinks President Trump shouldn’t designate the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization because it could make Trump the enemy of all Muslims.
The liberal paper published Thursday an editorial Thursday titled “All of Islam Isn’t the Enemy” arguing against the move, which the Trump administration is reportedly considering as a possible option. CIA Director Mike Pompeo has said he supports designating the group, which is open about its goal of creating a state ruled by Islamic law, as a terrorist organization.
“Is President Trump trying to make enemies of the entire Muslim world? That could well happen if he follows up his primitive ban on refugees and visa holders from seven Muslim nations with an order designating the Muslim Brotherhood — perhaps the most influential Islamist group in the Middle East — as a terrorist organization,” the editors charged.
Syrian refugees at the Turkish border (Getty Images)
The editors claim the potential order “appears to be part of a mission by the president and his closest advisers to heighten fears by promoting a dangerously exaggerated vision of an America under siege by what they call radical Islam.” (RELATED: Here’s What Trump Administration Officials Think Of The Muslim Brotherhood)
The Times’ editors have repeatedly denounced Trump’s approach to fighting radical Islamic terrorism.
In a column published at the end of January, the editors expressed their horror at Trump’s stated goal of wiping Islamic extremists off the face of the earth, worrying that Trump’s approach is “more likely to further inflame anti-American sentiment around the world than to make the United States safer.” (RELATED: NYT Editorial Board Horrified That Trump Wants To Fight ‘Radical Islamic Terrorism’)
Trump and the Times have repeatedly butted heads.
The president has deemed the liberal publication “fake news,” while the Times’ coverage of Trump has been consistently negative. (RELATED: Journalists Exposed By WikiLeaks Now Covering Trump White House)
