Gov. Robert Bentley signed an executive order for state agencies to stop cooperating with the Federal government in settling Syrian refugees in Alabama.
At least 26 other governors have signed similar orders since Bentley’s announcement made national news on Sunday night, Nov. 15.
“The threat posed by the Syrian refugees is real, and as Governor, I cannot expose my fellow Alabamians to the risk of accepting refugees from Syria, whose backgrounds cannot properly be checked to ensure national security,” Bentley said in a statement on Wednesday, Nov. 18.
French authorities believe the attack was carried out by seven people. Four have been identified as French citizens, two remain unidentified and one was initially identified as a Syrian, but authorities now believe his Syrian passport was fake. Another French citizen was arrested in connection with the attacks, and the chief planner of the attacks, Abdelhamid Abaaoud, is a Belgian citizen. French authorities announced Thursday, Nov. 19, that Abaaoud was killed in a raid on Wednesday.
Jill Crystal, professor of political science and author of two books on the politics of the Persian Gulf region, said the governor’s policy doesn’t ensure security and may be counterproductive.
“If you have Syrian refugees who fled ISIS and are in this country in a mosque where young men as young men do tend to play occasionally with crazy ideas, they can sit them down and say, ‘ISIS is not what you think. I was there, this is what it’s really like,’” Crystal said.
Crystal said the United States should take in refugees because American actions led to the creation of the Islamic State group, and America has a long history of taking in refugees.
Susan Rashid, graduate student in biology and vice president of public relations for the Muslim Students’ Association, said she is worried the governor’s order encourages a simplistic view of Muslims.
“In the media, (Islam) is just this one big mesh of beliefs, and there’s no teasing apart what’s a cultural norm and what’s really in the religion,” Rashid said.
Benjamin Cole, graduate student in public administration with a focus in conflicts and terrorism, said understanding the motivations for why people would commit acts of terror enables prevention of those acts.
One of the motivations for conducting the attack in Paris could have been to provoke a negative response by the West against Muslims, according to Cole.
“If we continue to make the same mistake of excluding a certain group of people, that plays into (the Islamic State group’s) favor,” Cole said.
Rashid, who was born and raised in California, said she worries what the governor’s order means for America.
“It’s setting a bad example for people to have this attitude of … shunning people who are different than them,” Rashid said.
Bentley and the other governors have stood firm that Syrian refugees are a security risks after a conference call with President Barack Obama on Wednesday, Nov. 18.
“The acts of terror committed over the weekend are a tragic reminder to the world that evil exists and takes the form of terrorists who seek to destroy the basic freedoms we will always fight to preserve,” Bentley said. “I will not place Alabamians at even the slightest, possible risk of an attack on our people.”
Asim Ali, project manager for University initiatives and adviser to the Muslim Students’ Association, said as a public employee he couldn’t comment on Bentley’s order.
However, he said he hopes people will not lump Muslims together as one group because of the attacks.
“The reality is that (Alabama) faces the same thing [as Muslims],” Ali said. “(Alabamians) get lumped into this gigantic thing of, ‘Oh, you’re from Alabama, so you’re backwards,’”
Ali said no matter the outcome Alabama and the South will remain a welcoming place.
“If Syrians come to Alabama, then we know based on the welcoming nature of the Auburn Family that we would welcome Syrian refugees and help them be productive members of society,” Ali said.
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