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http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news...ing-him-and-whos-shunninghim/article27656087/
Trump around the world: Who’s welcoming him and who’s shunning him
In Britain, a petition with more than 100,000 signatures is pressing for him to be banned from the country; in Israel, he’s set to meet the Prime Minister later this month; meanwhile, Beijing gives him an obliquely worded rebuke
STEFAN WERMUTH/REUTERS
IN BRITAIN
Muslim population: 2.7 million (out of 65 million total)
More than 100,000 Britons have signed an online petition to ban U.S. Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump from the country following his proposal to ban Muslims from entering the United States.
Trump, who owns two golf courses in Scotland which he visited earlier this year, called for a complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States “until our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on,” following last week’s deadly shooting spree in California by two Muslims.
The petition was launched by Suzanne Kelly, a Scottish-based campaigner and longtime critic of Trump’s latest golf course in Aberdeenshire. The government responds to all petitions that gain more than 10,000 signatures, and the topic will be considered for a parliamentary debate if they reach 100,000.
The UK has banned entry to many individuals for hate speech. If the United Kingdom is to continue applying the ‘unacceptable behavior’ criteria to those who wish to enter its borders, it must be fairly applied to the rich as well as poor, and the weak as well as powerful.
Suzanne Kelly’s petition
Britain’s interior ministry has the power to ban people from entering the country if they have engaged in what the government determines to be unacceptable behaviour. Asked by reporters on Wednesday whether she would consider banning Trump, Home Secretary Theresa May merely said it was important for politicians to ensure “cohesion among communities rather than division.”
IN ISRAEL
Muslim population: 1.3 million (out of eight million total)
An Israeli official says Trump will meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a visit to Israel at the end of this month. The official said Wednesday that the meeting was scheduled two weeks ago, before Trump’s incendiary comments. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief reporters, said the meeting is set for Dec. 28. The official added that Netanyahu does not agree with comments made by every candidate he meets, without elaborating.
Foreign notables generally get the red-carpet treatment in Israel. With Israel and the United States being close allies, and the right-wing Netanyahu seen as aligned with the Republicans, Trump may hope his visit will bolster his foreign policy credentials ahead of the U.S. election in November, 2016.
The planned visit drew criticism from across the Israeli political spectrum on Wednesday. Ahmad Tibi, a lawmaker from Israel’s 20 per cent Arab minority, said he had asked for the “neo-Nazi” not to be admitted to the parliament. That call was echoed by Omer Bar-Lev of the main center-left opposition party, the Zionist Union, who on Twitter deemed the real-estate billionaire turned Republican candidate a “racist.”
The censure was joined by Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud party. Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz, a senior Likud lawmaker and Netanyahu confidant, described Trump’s rhetoric on Muslims as harmful from an Israeli and U.S. standpoint.
I recommend fighting terrorist and extremist Islam, but I would not declare a boycott of, ostracism against or war on Muslims in general. We in the state of Israel have many Muslim citizens who are loyal. On the contrary, the extremists and the terrorists should be distinguished from the loyal citizens, and in the United States, too, there are loyal Muslim citizens.
Yuval Steinitz, in an interview with Israel’s Army Radio
IN CHINA
Muslim population: 20 million (out of 1.3 billion total)
China weighed in on Wednesday with its own, albeit indirect, criticism of Trump’s proposal. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said what Trump said was really an internal issue for the United States, and she could not comment on internal U.S. matters.
“But on the relevant issue he brought up, China’s position is very clear,” she told a daily news briefing in Beijing. “China opposes all forms of terrorism. We uphold that the international community should make a concerted effort to fight terrorism, and at the same time we have always opposed linking terrorism to any specific ethnic group or religion,” Hua added, without elaborating.
China’s large Muslim population includes Uighurs in the far western Chinese region of Xinjiang, where the government says it is facing its own problem with radicalized Islamists. Rights groups and exiles says China’s repressive policies in Xinjiang, including controls on Islam, are the root cause of the unrest, which has killed hundreds in the past few years. China denies any repression and says it guarantees freedom of religion.
IN THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Muslim population: 4.4 million (out of 5.7 million total)
Dubai-based Landmark Group, one of the Middle East’s largest retail firms, said it was pulling Trump products off its shelves in response to his comments. Landmark and DT Home Marks International LLC have an exclusive deal to sell Trump Home products – including lighting, mirrors, and jewellery boxes – in their Lifestyle department stores in Kuwait, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
“In light of the recent statements made by the presidential candidate in the U.S. media, we have suspended sale of all products from the Trump Home décor range,” CEO Sachin Mundhwa said in an e-mailed statement. The group did not give details on the value of the contract.
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