By Alexander Dickson

Trump does not understand terrorism, nor does he want to, and he is actively making the problem worse.
Earlier this week, on Oct. 31, Sayfullo Saipov rented a truck from Home Depot and drove down the bicycle lane in West Manhattan, killing eight and seriously injuring 12, in what would become the deadliest terrorist attack New York has seen since 9/11.

Before Trump tweeted any condolences to the families of the victims, he tweeted that ISIS must not be able to “return, or enter, our country after defeating them in the Middle East and elsewhere. Enough!” This goes right to the heart of Trump’s lack of understanding about terrorism. It is dangerous to view only attacks perpetrated by Muslims to be terrorism, as there is an abundance of right-wing terrorism caused by white men that must also be addressed. It is clear Trump sees immigration reform, coupled with military victories, as the solution to terrorism as a whole. This tragic event was followed by investigations into the visa that Mr. Saipov used to enter the United States from Uzbekistan in 2009. These investigations turned into a heated discussion on immigration.

Despite Trump’s claims on Twitter, Chuck Schumer was not uniquely responsible for the Diversity Lottery Visa, as it was signed into law by Republicans in the 1990s as a way to allow more Irish and Italian immigrants into the country. However, looking at visas and immigration laws is beside the point. This attack was not the fault of a flawed immigration policy, but of a lack of attention to the real causes of terrorism. This view of ISIS as a foreign, distant army trying to enter through the notoriously difficult U.S. visa process is both absurd and misleading. It is clear that the suspect, Mr. Saipov, was not a member of ISIS, as he entered the United States on a diversity visa, and was radicalized after he arrived. The terrorist in Orlando, who shot and killed 49 people, also claiming ties to ISIS, was born and raised in the U.S., meaning he was radicalized here, not in the Middle East. We must examine how they are radicalized if we want to prevent terrorist attacks in the future.

Islamophobia is not the solution, yet it is part of Trump’s strategy in fighting terrorism. Trump’s solutions of banning Muslims from entering the country under the veils of his failed ‘travel bans’ and killing innocent civilians in drone strikes at higher rates than his predecessor only go to validate ISIS’ claims that Muslims are not welcome in the West. Then, after confirming their narrative, Trump amplifies it whenever there is a Muslim suspect in a terrorist attack – mentioning ISIS whenever he can. Trump equating all Muslim terrorist suspects with ISIS is a national security threat. It makes ISIS seem more powerful and pervasive than they actually are, and emboldens Muslims on the verge of being radicalized that any attempt at terrorism they make will be attributed to ISIS.

The reality is that, as of today, ISIS has lost 90 percent of the ‘Caliphate’ that it once held in Iraq and Syria, and will imminently be defeated militarily during Trump’s presidency. However, what made ISIS truly a threat to nations outside of the Middle East was never their military power, it was the appeal to their ideology. Trump will never understand terrorism until he realizes that it is a war of ideas.

So what are ISIS’s ideas? The way in which ISIS recruits members is in stark contrast to the way Muslims are portrayed on Fox News. They shower them with admiration and affection, and make those who feel vulnerable and threatened feel welcome and needed instead. They point to statements from Trump as proof of their narrative. So the question must be asked: how are we proving ISIS wrong?

When ISIS is defeated in Iraq and Syria, it will be a welcome end to their brutal presence in the region, but it will not be the end of the factors that made them so dangerous and appealing. All it takes is another group to rise up and adopt their same talking points, which boils down to this: Muslims are not welcome in the West and never will be. So, in order to put an end to terrorism carried out under the name of Islam, this idea must be defeated.

But why would Trump try to eradicate one of the factors that got him elected? Racist fears of Muslims and refugees from the Middle East (many of them Christians) has been stoked up and used as a political weapon. Islamophobia directly benefits Trump politically, yet it is putting innocent Americans in harm’s way. Overblowing terrorism and only associating that term with Muslims makes the issue more dangerous than it is – and that’s the point. Acts of terrorism perpetrated by white men far out-number those committed by Muslims, the most recent in Las Vegas resulting in a devastating 59 people killed. That event is all but behind us in the news already, with no calls for action or even acknowledgment that it was terrorism.

The goal of the President should be to make Americans less afraid, not play into their fear. If Trump really wants to defeat ISIS, he must wage a war of ideas that eradicates the widespread Islamophobia in this country and makes all Muslims feel welcome and appreciated. That way, ISIS fails and their ideas with them. I do not realistically think Trump will do this, for the reasons stated earlier, so until then, it is up to us to eradicate Islamophobia.

Alexander Dickson, FCRH ’18, is a theology and Middle East studies major from London, United Kingdom.