The leading presidential candidate of the Republican party thinks the way to solve terrorism in America is to ban entry of all Muslims to the United States.

The fact that Donald Trump wants a complete shutdown of Muslims, and has support from voters is beyond acceptable. What type of world would we be living in if the “most powerful country in the world” were to generalize a whole religion and promote religious discrimination?

Trump’s statement comes just 6 days after a mass shooting in San Bernardino, California that killed 14 people and injured 21 others. The shooters – husband and wife – turned out to be radicals and supporters of ISIS. The wife entered the United States through a fiancée visa, while her husband was American-born.

Trump’s proposal also comes a day after US President Barack Obama called for national unity following the attacks, and to not associate all Muslims with terrorism and extremist ideas – a rare speech from the Oval Office praised by Muslims worldwide.

In a campaign stop in South Carolina, Trump told supporters, “We need a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States while we figure out what the hell is going on.” The crowd cheered disturbingly loudly in agreement.

Defenders of Trump and his supporters say the candidate’s proposal is not an issue of religion but of national security. But this policy cannot be separated as two different issues – this is blatant discrimination against a specific faith, against Islam.

Imagine for a second, being inhibited from travel and movement for the sole reason of being Christian because people from the same faith performed acts of terror. That does not define Christianity, in the same way Muslims themselves feel like their own religion has been hijacked by extremists – because terrorism is not what Islam stands for.

If America wants to fix its national security policy, the government should look at border control, look at visa regulations by all means. But a shutdown against people of one faith is not the solution. It violates the core values of the US. It is unconstitutional.

America has consistently been the model of democracy and freedom for most countries. Religious freedom is an important part of American history and its values. A policy like this is exactly what extremists want – one that drives a wedge between Muslims and the rest of the world. A policy like this essentially means we have lost the war against terrorism.

I am not American, nor am I Muslim, although I do live in the country with the world’s largest Muslim population. Since having moved to Indonesia, I have come to learn that Islam is a religion very much rooted in the same beliefs as Christianity and Judaism. It is rooted in peace, goodness and love.

Rappler Indonesia’s bureau is mostly Muslim, journalists who want to change the world for the better. My best friend from college is Muslim. She was educated in Yale, a brilliant consultant who is grateful for the 4 years she spent in America and the opportunities it offered her to make a difference in her homeland of Tanzania. None of them are evil, and they too, like most of us, condemn acts of terror.

Trump may eventually lose America’s top post, but this rhetoric is important for all of us – even non-Americans and non-Muslims – to reject and to stand up against. Even in the Philippines, opinions toward Muslims in Mindanao are prejudiced and offensive. This sort of fear-mongering, of Islamophobic sentiment has no space in our society – especially if we aim to eliminate ISIS. It is this exact isolation and judgment that drives moderates to extremism.

Will we really allow ourselves to live in a world that is ignorant and hateful and discriminatory? A belief system like that makes us no better than the terrorists we claim to want to defeat. – Rappler.com