{"id":6282,"date":"2015-12-09T18:12:31","date_gmt":"2015-12-09T18:12:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/english.thesunrisetoday.com\/?p=6282"},"modified":"2015-12-09T18:12:31","modified_gmt":"2015-12-09T18:12:31","slug":"trump-only-loves-rich-muslims-who-give-him-money","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/english.thesunrisetoday.com\/index.php\/trump-only-loves-rich-muslims-who-give-him-money\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump Only Loves Rich Muslims Who Give Him Money"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Trump\"<\/a>Dean Obeidallah:<\/strong> They\u2019re mostly in the Gulf, and they have a ton of money, and they\u2019re sending some of it The Donald\u2019s way. But what else are they up to?
\nDonald Trump clearly has issues with Muslims. The latest example is his vow to ban all Muslim immigration to the United States, declaring he wants a \u201ctotal and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country\u2019s representatives can figure out what is going on.\u201d Before that Trump had called for depriving American Muslims of civil liberties simply because of their faith by way of warrantless surveillance of Muslim Americans. And he has even gone as far as to indict all Muslims by declaring recently that \u201cworldwide the Muslims were absolutely going wild\u201d cheering on the 9\/11 attacks.
\nBut there\u2019s one type of Muslim Trump really loves: The ones that make him big bucks. You see, if a Muslim can show Trump the money, then all those concerns he has with Muslims go right out the window of his private jet as he jets off to the Gulf to cash in.
\nFor example, Trump loves Hussain Sajwani, head of the Dubai luxury real estate company Damac Properties. Trump has called the Muslim Sajwani a \u201cgood friend\u201d and a \u201cgreat man,\u201d among other accolades. And in May 2014, The Donald even flew off to Dubai to spend time with his Muslim friend as they announced the massive real estate project they were teaming up to create in the United Arab Emirates.
\nAnd when I say massive project, I mean Trump-style \u201cyuge!\u201d\u00a0 This 42 million-square-foot development (the Pentagon is 6 million-square-feet) includes 104 villas and mansions that begin at more than $1 million U.S. dollars and climb to over $10 million a pop. The development also boasts the \u201cTrump World Golf Club,\u201d which Trump has described as a course that \u201cwill be bigger and better and stronger\u201d than any other in the region. Interestingly, Trump has used almost identical words to describe how the U.S. military will look if he\u2019s elected.
\nSo how did Sajwani get Trump to forget that Muslims \u201cworldwide\u201d celebrated on 9\/11? Simple, Sajwani paid Trump enough money to go from a scary Muslim to a \u201cgreat guy.\u201d
\nAs Sajwani explained to the Dubai media, \u201cWe went to see him [Trump] and he signed with us.\u201d While Sajwani refused to reveal the exact dollar amount Trump was paid, it must be big given that the Trump-named golf course has been dubbed the \u201ccenterpiece\u201d of the project, complete with a luxury spa, restaurants, stores, etc. And just a few months ago, \u201cTrump Private Mansions\u201d went on sale starting north of $1 million each and are being touted as \u201cthe most distinguished address in Dubai,\u201d with a view \u201coverlooking the Trump International Championship\u201d golf course.
\nWhile no one can find video of \u201cthousands and thousands\u201d of Muslims cheering on 9\/11 in New Jersey as Trump claim happened, there\u2019s plenty of video of Trump chilling with his Muslim BFF Sajwani. You can see the two laughing it up at the 2014 press conference in Dubai, riding in Trump\u2019s special golf cart and posing for cameras as Trump gives a big thumbs up while praising Sajwani and Dubai.
\nNow while this may not trouble Trump, Sajwani was convicted in 2011 in an Egyptian court for getting an illegal sweetheart deal from an Egyptian government minster to buy government land he wanted to develop. Sajwani, who was tried in absentia, was sentenced to five years in prison, and the government minister who sold him the land was imprisoned for the crime of \u201csquandering public funds.\u201d Ultimately, however, the criminal conviction was \u201csettled\u201d in 2013 after a more receptive Egyptian government came to power.
\nBut putting aside the criminal issue of Trump\u2019s business partner, there are still questions about the working conditions for the migrant workers building these Trump homes. As most know, the working conditions for the migrant construction employees in Dubai can be horrific. Workers have been requited to work 14-plus-hour days in over 100 degree weather and live in barely habitable conditions.
\nIn fact, at the 2014 press conference in Dubai announcing this project, a reporter from Vice asked about this issue point blank: \u201cMr. Trump, the workers who build your villas make less than $200 a month. Are you satisfied?\u201d People in the room reportedly gasped at the question. Trump refused to answer, instead remaining stone-faced. The project\u2019s publicist then told the reporter, \u201cThat\u2019s not an appropriate question.\u201d
\nBut wealthy people in Dubai aren\u2019t the only Muslims Trump adores. His company is looking at \u201cmultiple opportunities in Abu Dhabi, in Qatar, in Saudi Arabia.\u201d
\nTrump teaming up with Saudi Arabia and Qatar is especially surprising given Trump\u2019s purported concerns about Muslim terrorists. After all, 15 of the 19 hijackers who attacked America on 9\/11 and killed nearly 3,000 Americans came from Saudi Arabia. Plus we all know about Saudi Arabia\u2019s policies of oppression of women, even banning them from driving.
\nAnd the government in Qatar has in the past publicly funded the terrorist group Hamas and even allowed Hamas leader Khaled Meshal to live in the small Gulf country. But when big money is in play, Trump seems to ignore these issues.
\nI wonder how Trump palling around with Muslims in Saudi Arabia and Qatar will play with the GOP base? Will some Republicans and the media want more details about Trump\u2019s Middle East deals and assurance that none of his business partners have made contributions directly, or indirectly, to terrorist groups? (Hamas is not even labeled a terrorist group in Dubai, so his partners could have legally supported the group.) Will they at least want to know if any of Trump\u2019s Muslim business partners were cheering after the 9\/11 attacks? And does Trump\u2019s avowed ban on Muslims entering the United States also apply to his wealthy business partners?
\nMaybe they won\u2019t care. Trump is the consummate salesman so maybe they understand that Trump would say one thing to Muslims he\u2019s courting for their money and another to American voters he\u2019s courting for their votes. After all, telling potential buyers what they want to hear is just good business.
\nRegardless of their reaction, the lesson for Muslim Americans is simple. If we want Trump to like us, we simply need to make it worth his while financially. Anyone want to join in me in starting a \u201chuge\u201d Kickstarter campaign to raise the money we need to get Trump to call us \u201cgood friends\u201d? –The Daily Beast<\/em><\/p>\n

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