A U.S. ban on immigrants and refugees from predominantly Muslim countries is everyone’s problem.

That’s the message from Aurangzed Qureshi, spokesman for the Alberta Muslim Public Affairs Council. He said he has seen support from Edmonton and Alberta already.
“We can stand up for each other, we can continue to fight for each other,” he said. “It’s not just about Muslims, it’s about humanity. It’s about acting locally and thinking globally.”

U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Friday that included a 90-day travel ban to the U.S. by citizens of Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia or Yemen.

There is also a 120-day suspension to the U.S. refugee program. The president said the ban was necessary to stop “radical Islamic terrorists,” the Associated Press reported.

On Saturday evening, a temporary, partial stay filed by the American Civil Liberties Union was granted by a federal judge in Brooklyn, barring the U.S. from deporting travelers with valid visas. The stay does not say they need to be admitted to the country.

Following the executive order, several people were detained in U.S. airports, including Hameed Khalid Darweesh, a translator and assistant for the U.S. military in Iraq for 10 years now fleeing death threats over his U.S. ties.

“It’s a troubling concept that his can happen in this day and age,” Quershi said. “It’s 2017 and people have been banned from entering the United States based on their faith.”

Qureshi called the democratic deficit an attack on the bedrock of what makes America successful and he predicts blow back from terrorist organizations.

Qureshi said actions like the ban from the president legitimize and justifies bigotry, racism and Islamaphobia — previously considered universally wrong.

The move will help Daesh recruit fighters against the West, Qureshi said.

“(Terrorists) don’t want co-existence,” Qureshi said. 

The ban on Muslims from North Africa and the Middle East also perpetuates the narrative that Muslims from North Africa and the Middle East are a monolithic entity that must be kept at bay.

“It’s a sad day in America,” Qureshi said.

The fallout from a legal perspective and an activist perspective remains to be seen, he said, adding the province and Edmonton are tolerant. He said there was anti-Muslim sentiment and race-baiting in the Canadian federal election, which was rejected.

“We’ve had a lot of messages of support sent to us, churches writing to us,” he said.

Alberta politicians sent messages of support through Twitter on Saturday evening.

Premier Rachel Notley said Alberta welcomes people with open arms.

“All people, no matter where they are from, deserve to live in peace,” she Tweeted.

Likewise, Edmonton Mayor Don Iveson Tweeted his support of immigrants and refugees.

“The success of Canadian cities depends on diversity and openness – which we strive for everyday,” Iveson wrote.

Each time a similar incident has happened including turning away of Sikhs on the Komagata Maru ship in 1914, the denial of Jewish refugees during the holocaust, or Japanese internment camps, Canadians have looked back with regret, but it continues to happen.

“We’ve seen what’s happened throughout history to a number of groups, faiths in the past,” Quershi said.