Thanksgiving, Syrian Refugees and What It Means To Be American

Following the Paris Attacks, a growing number of Americans have demanded that the United States reject Syrian refugees.

On the surface, this sentiment seems to make sense. With hundreds of thousands of refugees pouring out of Syria, many Americans are fearful that ISIS could exploit the greatest mass migration since WWII by posing as migrants in order to gain passage into Western countries, where they could then commit acts of terror.

Amidst the backdrop of Paris, it sounds like a legitimate fear to have. However, when you really dig deep, this collective anxiety does not hold up to scrutiny.

First off, Syrian refugees are not terrorists. They are victims of terror. They are predominantly women and children whose lives have been destroyed by Assad barrel bombs and ISIS barbarism. 

Secondly, America has one of the most thorough and extensive refugee screening processes in the world. As Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson recently explained, refugees must pass multiple levels of background checks, medical tests and interviews in order to gain entrance into the United States. The entire process takes two years to complete.

Thirdly, why would ISIS waste two-years trying to pass the screening process when they already have thousands of foreign fighters with European passports who are ready to commit acts of terror right now? After all, none of the Paris attackers were refugees from Syria. They were all native Frenchmen and Belgians. They weren't foreigners, they were homegrown. 

When thinking about the refugee crisis, we must remember that one of ISIS's main goals is to "eliminate the gray-zone of co-existence between Muslims and the West." They hope that by terrorizing the West with Paris-style attacks it will cause backlash against Western Muslims as a whole, forcing them to abandon the West and join the Caliphate, which ultimately strengthens ISIS.

Muslims living in the West would soon no longer be welcome in their own societies. Treated with increased suspicion, distrust and hostility by their fellow citizens as a result of the deadly shooting, Western Muslims would soon be forced to "either apostatize... or migrate to the Islamic State, and thereby escape persecution from the crusader governments and citizens."

Sadly, we are seeing this ugly trend take shape in America. Since the Paris Attacks, anti-Muslim sentiment is on the rise. Donald Trump has led the charge nationally, catapulting even higher in the polls thanks to his inflammatory anti-Muslim rhetoric. Ben Carson even compared Syrian refugees to rabid dogs. In Texas, armed gunmen are now "hunting for terrorists" by stalking worshippers who enter mosques. This anti-Muslim backlash is exactly what ISIS.

Every time Trump calls for mass surveillance of Muslims or Chris Christie refuses to accept 3-year-old refugee orphans, ISIS jumps for joy on the streets of Raqqa. It strengthen's their apocalyptic narrative that the East is at war with the West, and that the West is hostile toward Islam. It allows ISIS to say to the refugees "Look, the West is evil. They don't want you. They don't respect you. You must stay in Syria. Your only true home is the Caliphate."

Bombs and bullets can only accomplish so much in the fight against ISIS. In order to fully destroy the Islamic State, we must decimate their ideology. Simply put, we can kill a thousand ISIS jhadists every day, but as long as the ideology that motivates them lives on, more and more fighters will take their place. The only way to end this revolving door of horror is to expose the ISIS ideology as barbaric and bankrupt and un-Islamic. 

We all have a role to play in this fight. As everyday Americans, our job is to condemn anti-Muslim rhetoric. In doing so, we prove that America is not at war with Islam. We prove that Western values like tolerance and pluralism are the ultimate antidote to extremism. Nothing would infuriate ISIS more.

As Americans, we have a moral obligation to accept refugees fleeing Syria. To turn our backs on them in their time of need would go against everything our country stands for. After all, the Statue of Liberty says "give us your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free." It doesn't say "sorry, not our problem."

History has taught us that when it comes to refugees, our actions have real consequences. In 1939, the SS St Louis was carrying over 900 Jewish refugees fleeing the Holocaust. It was forced to turn around before it reached Florida. More than 250 people on that ship ended up being killed by the Nazis. All because we turned them away. Most Americans look back on this episode with disgust and shame. Why, with the benefit of hindsight, are we willing to make the same mistake by closing the door on today's refugees fleeing Syria?

Finally, as we sit around the table this Thanksgiving, surrounded by family, delicious food and the sound of football in the background, we should also remember that many of our earliest ancestors, including the ones who celebrated the first Thanksgiving in 1621, were themselves immigrants and refugees.

We must honor that legacy by showing compassion to today's Syrian refugees. 

Anything less would be un-American.