Clear Lake Muslim Community Cautiously Optimistic For Trump Administration

CLEAR LAKE, TX -- In the days following the inauguration of President Donald Trump, muslims in the Clear Lake area are viewing the new president with a sense of cautious optimism.

During his campaign, Trump made comments indicating he’d institute a ban on all Muslim immigration to the United States, particularly those who were fleeing Syria’s civil war, until the government could find a way to properly vet those refugees.

However, since the election Trump has softened his stance on Muslims which is giving the community hope that his words were little more than campaign rhetoric.

“We are cautiously optimistic that he will tone down that rhetoric when it comes to action…,” Hamza Reed, administrator for the Clear Lake Islamic Center, told the Houston Chronicle.

Ashma Moosa, who is on the board of directors for the MD Anderson Cancer Center, is optimistic despite the rhetoric and feels that once the Trump Administration really hits the ground running, that the rhetoric and divisiveness will subside.

However, others in the Muslim community are cautious, especially when it comes to Trump’s choices to lead the National Security Agency and the U.S Attorney General’s Office.

Retired Lt. Gen. Mike Flynn was tapped to lead the NSA, while Jeff Sessions will serve as the next Attorney General.

Both men have expressed anti-Islamic sentiments in the past, which is concerning for some in the Muslim community.

"That of course raises the level of worry and fear among some community members but we have confidence in the system, in the court system," said Tarek Hussein, president of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, Houston Chapter. "This is the greatness of America: there is the law, and you follow the law and you find a way to represent yourself correctly."

Image: Lion Multimedia Productions/Flickr