SiVIC again joins with the Know Your Neighbor campaign and interfaith groups around the Bay Area and across the US to reaffirm our commitment to diversity and compassion in times when they seem to be threatened.

San Jose – The Know Your Neighbor: Multifaith Encounters campaign, a program of the Islamic Networks Group (ING), finds that the executive order issued this week by President Donald Trump banning entry to the U.S. by citizens of six Muslim-majority countries and suspending and restricting the admission of refugees is essentially the same as the previous executive order on this subject. It therefore requires us once again to reaffirm basic values that we share with the great majority of Americans:

• Respect for diversity, pluralism, and religious freedom: Although the executive orders do not explicitly mention Muslims or their faith, several provisions target Muslims. As such, they violate the principles embodied in the First Amendment and our country’s commitment to religious neutrality.
• Care for the stranger and the needy: Except for the native peoples, since its founding the United States has been a nation of immigrants. Our country has a long tradition of welcoming and supporting immigrants and the needy; the rejection of refugees fleeing horrific violence flies in the face of the obligation to help and the hospitality that the American people have traditionally shown to those in need.
• Civil liberties: While these orders do not explicitly target particular groups, they clearly impact primarily one religious identity (Muslim). Singling out Muslims reinforces and encourages existing prejudice and discrimination, including U.S. citizens and documented immigrants.
• Unity and solidarity: Policies which single out specific religious or ethnic groups violate the sense of national unity and solidarity that allows the diverse people of our nation to live in peace and harmony.

Read the full statement here.