Muslim Doctor On Travel Ban: Education Is Key To Calming Fears
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HALLANDALE BEACH (CBSMiami) – At a mosque in Hallandale beach, members of the Muslim community come to pray and to discuss the changes that have been proposed by the new Trump administration.
Not everyone there would be affected if the temporary ban gets put back in place, but they all know someone who would.
Dr. Khalid Minhas says education is key to calming fears, and hopes his Hallandale Beach mosque can be a catalyst for change.
"We have an open door policy to this mosque or any mosque of the Ahmadiyya Community all over the world," he said. "People are welcome to come ask questions about Islam and we create an environment where we can discuss we can dialogue we can educate each other."
Dr. Khalid Minhas, after leaving his home country of Pakistan, has lived and studied all over the world. But in his travels, it was America that stood out to him.
"I came to the United States in 1999," he said.
He says it stood out because of one document: the U.S. Constitution.
"The reason the United States is great is because of the inalienable rights that the Constitution guarantees to all its citizens regardless of the color their religion their ethnicity," he said.
Becoming a citizen was not an easy process.
The cardiologists vetting process would take more than a decade.
"There would be fingerprinting twice a year," he explained. "It took me almost 12 years to become a citizen."
And so, when Trump issued his executive order on immigration, targeting mostly Muslim countries, with the argument that U.S. immigration needed to have a stricter vetting process, it just didn't make sense to Dr. Minhas.
"It is against the inclusiveness or inclusive spirit of our Constitution it defies the very spirit the values of our nation," he said.
And for some – even new U.S. citizens like the doctor – the executive order has put a fear inside a large group of people.
"They have decided not to leave because of the uncertainties," he said.
He describes this country as the best place on earth to raise a child, and says he still believes this.
