Mr. Trump’s reactionary decree banning Syrian refugees and visitors from other Muslim-majority countries has dangerous side effects: It normalizes war criminals like Mr. Assad, dictators like Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt, and helps the Islamic State and Al Qaeda. . . Despotic regimes exploit this American fear of Islamist militancy and get away with brutal violence against dissenting populations of varying political and religious persuasions by projecting them as jihadists.  Terrorist networks like Al Qaeda and the Islamic State use discriminatory acts such as Mr. Trump’s ban to depict the West as fundamentally anti-Muslim and position themselves as defenders of the Islamic realm. They thrive in a world of hatred, fear and retreat.

By Yassin Al-Haj Saleh

February 2, 2017

Source:  The New York Times

Read the entire article in the New York Times

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/02/opinion/how-isis-benefits-from-trumps-ban-on-syrians.html