Is Trump’s travel ban Islamophobic?

Despite protests at US airports, from lawyers in court, and political leaders abroad, President Donald Trump is refusing to drop his travel ban on citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries.

He says it’s about protecting US citizens and preventing what he calls terrorist attacks.

His executive order recalls the September 11 attacks in 2001, when passenger jets flew into New York’s Twin Towers.

But the 19 hijackers on those planes were from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the UAE, and Lebanon – none of the countries on Trump’s banned list.

So how can the US president justify his order? And where does it leave Muslims living in the United States?

Presenter: Martine Dennis

Guests:

Saba Ahmed, president of the Republican Muslim Coalition.

Daniel Benjamin, former counterterrorism adviser with the US state department. Currently, he is director of the John Sloan Dickey Center for International Understanding at Dartmouth College.

Manal Omar, Muslim activist and founder of SAFINA Fellowship for Muslim women.