Trump Changes theCore Fight for Civil Rights on Muslims and LGBT in the US

 

For the combatants in America’s long-running culture wars, the triumph of Donald Trump and congressional Republicans was stunning — sparking elation on one side, deep dismay on the other.

American Muslims are reeling after the election of Trump, whose campaign was rife with anti-Islamic rhetoric and proposals that included banning Muslims from entering the country and heightened surveillance of mosques across the nation.

 

Meanwhile, advocates of LGBT rights and abortion rights fear setbacks. The election outcome has emboldened the antiabortion movement and breathed new life into the religious right’s campaign for broad exemptions from same-sex marriage and other laws.

For Muslims living in the United States, there is significant fear, along with some reports of harassment; one hijab-wearing student at San Diego State University said she was briefly choked by suspects who made remarks about Trump’s victory.

 

‘‘There are lots and lots of people who aren’t going out of the house,’’ said Eboo Patel, a Muslim who heads the Interfaith Youth Core, a Chicago-based organization that works with colleges and government officials to build interreligious relationships.

At New York University late last week, hundreds of people sat shoulder-to-shoulder on a grand staircase of a student center to express solidarity after the word ‘‘Trump!’’ was scrawled on the door of a Muslim prayer space at the school.

Students spoke of friends who wore headscarves or other traditional clothing and were afraid to take public transportation home for fear of being harassed.

Sana Mayat, a 21-year-old senior who wears the hijab, said the election made her realize ‘‘there was a large part of this country that didn’t want me here.’’

‘‘There is an intense state of anxiety about the future,’’ said Rami Nashashibi, a parent of three and executive director of Chicago’s Inner-City Muslim Action Network. ‘‘I grappled with the conversation I had to have with my children.’’

The outcome was especially bitter after an unprecedented voter registration drive by American Muslims, including get-out-the-vote sermons at mosques and the creation of a political action committee, Emerge USA, to mobilize Arabs and Muslims.

Enas Almadhwahi, a 28-year-old Yemeni immigrant who has been in the US since 2008, became a citizen this year and voted for the first time.

To mark the occasion, she brought her 7-year-old daughter, along with some coworkers. The next day, when she told her daughter Trump had won, the girl cried.

Trump’s administration could radically reshape the Justice Department, which has been an ally under President Obama in protecting Muslim civil rights. Trump could also repeal a key Obama program that prevents the deportation of some immigrants, including Muslims, living in the country illegally.

Religious conservatives have been heartened by the election of Trump.

Kelly Shackelford, head of First Liberty Institute, a legal group that specializes in religious freedom cases, said the environment for his cause will be transformed from ‘‘brutal’’ under the Obama administration to friendly given GOP control of both Congress and the White House.

His clients include two Christian bakers in Oregon who were fined for refusing to bake a cake for a same-sex wedding.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

David Crary