Reactions to the results of the US presidential election have been pouring in from around the world. Muslims have been vocal in their opinions on a Donald Trump presidency. During the campaign, Trump said he planned “a total and complete shutdown of Muslims” entering the U.S. He's also made several divisive and Islamophobic comments.
It shouldn't be a surprise if Trump makes the world's 1-point-6 billion Muslims feel anxious. Yet that’s not exactly what CCTV’s Natalie Carney discovered as she took to the streets of Turkey's Istanbul, a city in a majority Muslim country.
According to some accounts, more than 90% of Turks identify themselves as Muslim. Yet Turkey’s constitution has long separated religion and state, which differentiates it from many other Middle Eastern or majority Muslim populated countries.
However, Donald Trump’s anti Muslim, anti immigrant comments touched a nerve on conservatives and seculars alike. In one Istanbul’s more secular neighbourhoods, Barış Akgün tells us he feels Trump was the better of two evils.
“I think Trump is using Muslims to remain on the agenda. I think it was an election tactic. American elections, as well as the elections in other big countries, have always affected us in a bad way. Actually I am waiting for a radical change in America, especially in their strategic steps in the Middle East because the ruling party is no longer the Democratic Party. I also think their relationship with Russia will change. And I think they will focus more on domestic policies.”
Ömer Kahraman agrees and views Trump as lesser threat than Hillary and the Democratic Party. “Trump was a big surprise not only for the American people but also for the world. But as a Muslim, as an individual living in a Muslim country I don’t think that Trump can ever create serious problems in Turkey or in any Muslim country which already has very serious problems like DAESH. I can’t imagine something worse than DAESH.”
Trump’s foreign policy intentions have been mixed. Throughout his election campaign he swung between an “America First” isolationism and calls for bold action against terrorism.
"While much of the Muslim world was keenly interested in the U.S. election results, Turkey was especially so because many here believe the present U.S. administration, of which Hillary Clinton is a part of, was behind the 15 July coup attempt even aiding the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ), who Ankara says was behind the coup. As well as helping the outlawed Kurdish separatist group, the PKK,"
Outside one of Istanbul’s biggest Mosques, most don’t see American foreign policy towards countries in the Middle East changing much.
A Turkish business owner said, “We have an expression in my hometown “white or black, the dog is still a dog”. The result wouldn’t change for Turkey or for the Muslims whether Hillary Or Trump was elected. Obama pretended as if he liked Turkey with his soft statements, but if we compare all the American presidents, the biggest harm was done to us by Obama. He cheated Turkey.”
Now it might not be so surprising why leaders of many Muslim countries were some of the first to congratulate President elect Trump.
What might prove more concerning for Muslims outside the US is whether the billions of US dollars spent on humanitarian and military aid to their countries will continue, particularly as Trump has promise to stop frittering away taxpayers’ money abroad.
