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The Muslim cleric who stumps for Trump draws ire and confusion
Source: The Guardian
The Muslim cleric who stumps for Trump draws ire and confusion
Lebanese sheikh Mohamed El-Hajj Hassan – who attended
a Michigan rally last week – was once a member of militant
group Hezbollah
Mazin Sidahmed
Wednesday 5 October 2016 12.00 BST
Donald Trump’s rally in Novi, Michigan, on Friday had a guest that caught many observers by surprise. Hovering behind Trump’s head in the fourth row, was a man in a white turban and the traditional dress of a Shia Muslim cleric.
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His attendance at the Trump rally last week drew the ire of a range of onlookers online.
“Every commentator (who isn’t a member of a political party) that I’ve seen comment on this was just confused,” said Joey Ayoub, Lebanese blogger at Hummus For Thought and MENA editor at Global Voices Online. Ayoub added that Hassan’s anti-Hezbollah stance does not gel with Trump’s tacit support for Vladimir Putin, as the Russian president supports Hezbollah in Syria.
However, Hassan said Trump told him he likes Muslims and he has no problem with them, according to the Detroit Free Press.
Michigan is home to the largest Arab American population in the country. Trump probably hoped that Hassan and the dozen other religious leaders he met with at the American Mideast Coalition for Trump event, would help mend his image among Arab Americans.
[font size=1]-snip-[/font]
Lebanese sheikh Mohamed El-Hajj Hassan – who attended
a Michigan rally last week – was once a member of militant
group Hezbollah
Mazin Sidahmed
Wednesday 5 October 2016 12.00 BST
Donald Trump’s rally in Novi, Michigan, on Friday had a guest that caught many observers by surprise. Hovering behind Trump’s head in the fourth row, was a man in a white turban and the traditional dress of a Shia Muslim cleric.
[font size=1]-snip-[/font]
His attendance at the Trump rally last week drew the ire of a range of onlookers online.
“Every commentator (who isn’t a member of a political party) that I’ve seen comment on this was just confused,” said Joey Ayoub, Lebanese blogger at Hummus For Thought and MENA editor at Global Voices Online. Ayoub added that Hassan’s anti-Hezbollah stance does not gel with Trump’s tacit support for Vladimir Putin, as the Russian president supports Hezbollah in Syria.
However, Hassan said Trump told him he likes Muslims and he has no problem with them, according to the Detroit Free Press.
Michigan is home to the largest Arab American population in the country. Trump probably hoped that Hassan and the dozen other religious leaders he met with at the American Mideast Coalition for Trump event, would help mend his image among Arab Americans.
[font size=1]-snip-[/font]
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/oct/05/muslim-cleric-donald-trump-rally-michigan-mohamed-el-hajj-hassan
1 replies
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