U.S. President Donald Trump takes the stage to address the Republican congressional retreat at the Greenbrier resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, U.S/ Reuters
CAIRO – 5 January 2018: The American administration has made another controversial move by announcing Ken Isaacs, vice president of the Christian relief organization Samaritan’s Purse, as the U.S. nominee for the U.N. International Organization for Migration (IOM)’s director general election in June.
Isaacs’s choice was considered controversial because of some hostile statements spotted on his social media account, according to a Washington Post article published on February 3. It was stated that Isaacs wrote that “Islam is an inherently violent religion.”
After spotting some of his hostile statements, which led some reporters to demand a comment from the U.S. Department of State, Isaacs’s Twitter account turned from public to private. However, he later issued a statement apologizing for his remarks.
“I deeply regret that my comments on social media have caused hurt and have undermined my professional record,” his statement read. “It was careless and it has caused concern among those who have expressed faith in my ability to effectively lead IOM. I pledge to hold myself to the highest standards of humanity, human dignity and equality if chosen to lead IOM,” Isaacs said.
Additionally, State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert issued another separate statement saying that the agency would continue to support the nominee and stressed that Isaacs has a proven record of helping diverse populations around the globe.
“Mr. Isaacs has apologized for the comments he posted on his private social media account. We believe that was proper for him to do so. Mr. Isaacs is committed to helping refugees and has a long history of assisting those who are suffering. We believe that if chosen to lead IOM, he would treat people fairly and with the dignity and respect they deserve,” she stated.
Also, last June, after the London bridge terrorist attacks in which eight people were killed and 48 others injured, it was also spotted on Twitter that Isaacs shared a CNN story quoting a Catholic bishop saying, “This isn’t in the name of God; this isn’t what the Muslim faith asks people to do.” He also responded, “CNN, Bishop, if you read the Quran, you will know ‘this’ is exactly what the Muslim faith instructs the faithful to do.”
Isaacs’ social media comments would put the U.S. administration at risk of losing the IOM election for the first time since the 1960s. The election is expected to be held in June 2018. A nominee must receive the support of two-thirds of its voting members. William L. Swing is the current director general of the organization.
The United States, however, has been witnessing a debate over the last couple of months due to the overhaul that Trump wishes to make over the “Dreamers” regulations inside the country. As the American president says that he is seeking his country’s safety by tightening the immigration laws and building a wall with Mexico, others see the regulations as another step of hostility against Arabs and Muslims.
Since he was a presidential candidate, Trump pledged to issue more rules to ban Muslims and Arabs from entering the country, claiming that it’s the only way to control the terrorist attacks inside the country. Several politicians and public figures criticized Trump for his calls.
A report issued by the Center for American Progress on February 2 criticized Trump’s practices against immigrants to control the terrorist attacks and violence inside the society. Meanwhile, the country is struggling due to weak firearm regulations in the United States, which participated in one way or another in the illegal flow of weapons to its neighboring countries, killing at least one person every 31 minutes.
“From 2014 to 2016, across 15 countries in North America, Central America, and the Caribbean, 50,133 guns that originated in the United States were recovered as part of criminal investigations. Put another way, during this span, U.S.-sourced guns were used to commit crimes in nearby countries approximately once every 31 minutes.” The report stated.
Several regulations were stated by the report to help to reduce the flow of crime guns abroad and begin to minimize the U.S. role in arming lethal violence in nearby countries. It was affirmed that the U.S. has a moral obligation to mitigate its role in arming lethal violence abroad.
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