Muslim World League chief’s sermon writes a new page in India’s Jama Masjid’s history

A standing-room-only congregation heard the first sermon in 400 years at the Jama Masjid. (Supplied)
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Updated 19 July 2023
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Muslim World League chief’s sermon writes a new page in India’s Jama Masjid’s history

  • Since its completion in 1656, the mosque has shaped the popular memory of the people of Delhi and the Indian nation
  • Friday discourse of Sheikh Al-Issa at Jama Masjid was the first sermon in 400 years by a religious figure from outside India

NEW DELHI: Constructed during the Mughal Empire some 400 years ago, the Masjid-e-Jahan Numa in the north Indian city of Delhi, popularly known as the Jama Masjid, is among the largest, most beautiful and most cherished places of worship on the Indian subcontinent.

Although the complex can accommodate 85,000 worshippers, it was standing room only when Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulkarim Al-Issa, secretary-general of the Muslim World League and chairman of the Organization of Muslim Scholars, delivered the Friday sermon last week.

According to the MWL website, it was the first time in 400 years that a religious figure from outside India had delivered a sermon at the mosque. Al-Issa did so at the invitation of its imam and with a warm welcome from worshippers.




A standing-room-only congregation heard the first sermon in 400 years at the Jama Masjid. (Shutterstock)

Emperor Shah Jahan, the fifth Mughal ruler in India, presided over the completion of the Jama Masjid in 1656. Since then, the mosque has shaped the popular memory of the people of Delhi and the wider Indian nation.

“Its foundation stone was laid on Oct. 6, 1650, under the supervision of Saadullah Khan, the prime minister, and Fazil Khan, the head of Shahjahan’s household establishment, at the cost of ten lacs of rupees,” wrote Sadia Aziz, a research scholar at the University of Delhi’s Department of History, in her 2017 essay “Mosque, Memory and State: A Case Study of Jama Masjid (India) and the Colonial State c. 1857.” (A lac is a unit in the Indian numbering system equal to 100,000.)

It was built on a hill called Bhojla Pahari, 1,000 yards from the Red Fort, the palace-fortress of the Mughal empire in their newly established capital, Shahjahanabad.

The mosque measured about 261 feet long and 90 feet wide, its roof surmounted by three domes decorated with stripes of black and white marble.

Jama Masjid has three entrances, the northern, southern and eastern, of which the last was the Shahi gate, reserved exclusively for the emperor, who would arrive in a procession with princes, nobles and their retinue from the Red Fort every Friday and on Eid days.

The mosque is known by two names, the first of which is the royal one bestowed upon it by the emperor: Masjid-i-Jahan Numa. “Jahan” means “world” and “Numa” means “visible,” signifying, figuratively, a structure that commands a view of the entire world.

The second name, Jama Masjid, meaning “collective or congregational masjid,” emerged out of the social consciousness of the people and over time became more popular than the formal name.




MWL chief Sheikh Dr. Mohammed bin Abdulkarim Al-Issa. (Supplied)

When the city of Delhi was taken over by the British in 1803, leaving the Mughal emperor in place as the ritual imperial head, colonial authorities assisted with the repair and renovation of the mosque.

However, such efforts by the colonial authorities to endear themselves to the local population came to an abrupt halt during the uprising of 1857, known as the Indian Mutiny or the First War of Independence.

When colonial authority was restored in mid-September 1857, the Muslim population was specifically targeted, as the British perceived the uprising as being a Muslim conspiracy against them. Consequently, numerous mosques in Delhi were demolished.

Various options were discussed by the British as to the fate of the Jama Masjid. The plans ranged from demolition to conversion to a church or secular college. In the end, a plan was hatched to turn it into barracks for Sikh soldiers from Punjab.

After this initial planning, however, the colonial authorities softened their approach and instead tried to use the mosque as a bargaining chip to win over the Muslim citizenry of Delhi. After much petitioning, the mosque was returned to the inhabitants of the Old City on Nov. 28, 1862, with the imposition of several rules and regulations that were to be followed by worshippers.

Given the Jama Masjid’s long and checkered history, it was therefore a moment of great significance to have the head of the MWL deliver the Friday sermon and lead prayer before a congregation that reflected the diversity and unity of modern India.




the complex can accommodate 85,000 worshippers. (Shutterstock)

Al-Issa arrived in the capital New Delhi on July 10 at the head of an MWL delegation, following an official invitation from the Indian government. During his trip, he met Indian President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Minority Affairs Minister Smriti Irani. He also held meetings with senior Indian Islamic scholars and religious leaders of various faiths.

His visit was designed to promote fraternal and friendly dialogue, to enhance understanding and cooperation, and to discuss many topics of common interest between the faiths, officials said.

“The visit of His Excellency Dr. Mohammed bin Abdulkarim Al-Issa enhances the relations between the two countries as well as relations between Muslims and followers of other faiths in India,” Mohammed Abdul Hakkim Al-Kandi, the imam of Jama Masjid, said in a video message for the MWL.

India is home to 1.4 billion people, including about 210 million Muslims who constitute the largest Muslim-minority population in the world. The majority of Indians are Hindus. Other minorities include Jains, Sikhs, Christians and Buddhists.

More than 75 years after India gained its independence, the country has generally managed to live up to the ideals of a society in which the followers of many religions can live in harmony and practice their faiths freely. However, intercommunal conflicts have routinely flared, leading to calls for mediation and dialogue.

Religious leaders who were present at Al-Issa’s sermon and other events during his visit said they hoped it would further encourage interfaith harmony.

JAMA MASJID FACTS

Old Name Masjid-i-Jehan- Numa (the mosque that reflects the whole world)

Location Old Delhi, India

Date of construction 1644-1656

Built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan

Architect Ustad Ahmad Lahori

Capacity 85,000 in total

Length 40 meters

Width 27 meters

Domes 3

Gates 3

Minarets 2

Minaret height 41 meters

Material Red sandstone, marble

Cost 1 million rupees

Asghar Ali Imam Mahdi Salafi, ameer of the Jamiate Ahle Hadeeth in India, said he hoped the visit would have “far-reaching significance” and a “profound positive impact.”

Syed Naseruddin Chishty, chairman of the All India Sufi Sajjadanashin Council, said the visit sent a message that Muslims believe in religious harmony and coexistence.

“Today is a great event,” he said. “It is a message to the whole world, the Muslim world especially, for Muslims living in India. India only wants peace. India believes in unity, in diversity and in universal brotherhood.”

Speaking to Arab News, Muddassir Quamar, professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University, said: “Saudi Arabia has been working toward building an interfaith dialogue globally. At a time when the world has witnessed so much division and tension among different cultures and faiths, greater interfaith dialogue can help heal the humanity and develop lasting cross-cultural connections.”

He continued: “Saudi Arabia and India are close partners and the abode of two faiths, Islam and Hinduism. Both believe in peace and universality of humanity, so the visit by Sheikh Al-Issa will help in developing even closer cultural relations between India and Saudi Arabia. Indian Muslims have seen the visit in a positive light.”

One of Al-Issa’s speeches in the Indian capital, at the Vivekananda International Foundation, was attended by prominent religious leaders, intellectuals, academics, politicians and parliamentarians. Among the attendees was Adil Rasheed, a senior Indian strategic affairs and defense policy analyst.

“Dr. Al-Issa’s message of religious harmony and peace was very well received,” Rasheed told Arab News.




The Jama Masjid, seen here in a photo from 1877, was returned by the British colonial authorities to Delhi’s Muslim inhabitants in 1862. (Getty Images)

“His scholarship, wisdom and oratory kept audiences rapt, interspersed with frequent rounds of spontaneous applause.

“Dr. Al-Issa’s message of correct upbringing of children, untainted by radical and extremist thought, was highly appreciated, as was his insistence on the need for constant dialogue between religions and civilizations as the only legitimate means for resolving disputes and misunderstandings.”

Rasheed’s view was seconded by Siraj Kureshi, chairman of the India Islamic Culture Center. “Sheikh Al-Issa is a major personality and a scholar. He has a huge reputation particularly in the Islamic countries, so wherever he goes people look at him with a lot of respect,” he told Arab News.

“The message he delivered to Indians was good. His topics were humanity , women empowerment, youth and education among other things. These are his qualities. That is why people like him and listen to him attentively.”

He added: “Saudi-Indian relations are very old. They go back hundreds of years. They have honoured our prime ministers. There is a huge Indian population working in Saudi Arabia. I am sure his message has been well received.

“Sheikh Al-Issa’s visit should not be linked to the internal affairs of India. We should keep in mind our age-old relations with Saudi Arabia. I am sure he had his messages for the PM and the president when he met them during his visit.”


Biden to attend South America summits, in Trump’s shadow

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Biden to attend South America summits, in Trump’s shadow

WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden will attend two key summits and visit the Amazon rainforest in South America this month, the White House said Thursday, in a trip totally overshadowed by Donald Trump’s election win.
Biden’s swansong at the G20 summit in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil and the APEC meeting in Lima, Peru will come as world leaders are more focused on how to deal with Trump’s stunning comeback.
“He is planning to attend both conferences,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told a briefing.
The return of Trump’s “America First” agenda to the global stage threatens to upend Biden’s embrace of international alliances on issues ranging from Ukraine and the Middle East to climate change and trade.
Jean-Pierre said in a statement that Biden will travel to Lima from November 14-16 for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) regional forum.
Last year he met Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the APEC summit in California, although there is no word on whether a similar meeting is possible this time.
Biden will then make what the White House said was the first visit by a sitting US president to Manaus in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest to meet indigenous leaders and others working to “protect this critical ecosystem.”
Finally, Biden will attend his last G20 group of nations summit in Rio on November 18 and 19, where the subjects will include climate change, it said.
Biden has spent his four years in office trying to reshape US leadership on the world stage, after the disruption of Trump’s first term as he criticized US allies and courted dictators like North Korea’s Kim Jong Un.
Uncertainty now reigns about what Trump 2.0 will mean for the world.
Trump’s plans for huge tariffs could trigger a trade war with China and badly affect Canada, Mexico, Europe and other trading partners.
Trump is also mooting talks with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, amid speculation that he will try to push through a peace deal with Ukraine.
Putin has said he will not attend this G20 because it would “wreck” the conference.

Donald Trump has sweeping plans for a second administration. Here’s what he’s proposed

Updated 23 min 13 sec ago
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Donald Trump has sweeping plans for a second administration. Here’s what he’s proposed

  • Trump’s agenda also would scale back federal government efforts on civil rights and expand presidential powers
  • Altogether, his approach would not just crack down on illegal migration, but curtail immigration overall

WASHINGTON: Donald Trump has promised sweeping action in a second administration.
The former president and now president-elect often skipped over details but through more than a year of policy pronouncements and written statements outlined a wide-ranging agenda that blends traditional conservative approaches to taxes, regulation and cultural issues with a more populist bent on trade and a shift in America’s international role.
Trump’s agenda also would scale back federal government efforts on civil rights and expand presidential powers.
A look at what Trump has proposed:
Immigration
“Build the wall!” from his 2016 campaign has become creating “the largest mass deportation program in history.” Trump has called for using the National Guard and empowering domestic police forces in the effort. Still, Trump has been scant on details of what the program would look like and how he would ensure that it targeted only people in the US illegally. He’s pitched “ideological screening” for would-be entrants, ending birth-right citizenship (which almost certainly would require a constitutional change), and said he’d reinstitute first-term policies such as “Remain in Mexico,” limiting migrants on public health grounds and severely limiting or banning entrants from certain majority-Muslim nations. Altogether, the approach would not just crack down on illegal migration, but curtail immigration overall.
Abortion
Trump played down abortion as a second-term priority, even as he took credit for the Supreme Court ending a woman’s federal right to terminate a pregnancy and returning abortion regulation to state governments. At Trump’s insistence, the GOP platform, for the first time in decades, did not call for a national ban on abortion. Trump maintains that overturning Roe v. Wade is enough on the federal level. Trump said last month on his social media platform Truth Social that he would veto a federal abortion ban if legislation reached his desk — a statement he made only after avoiding a firm position in his September debate against Democratic nominee Kamala Harris.
But it’s unclear if his administration would aggressively defend against legal challenges seeking to restrict access to abortion pills, including mifepristone, as the Biden administration has. Anti-abortion advocates continue to wage legal battles over the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of the drug as well as the agency’s relaxed prescribing restrictions. Trump is also unlikely to enforce Biden’s guidance that hospitals must provide abortions for women who are in medical emergencies, even in states with bans.
Taxes
Trump’s tax policies broadly tilt toward corporations and wealthier Americans. That’s mostly due to his promise to extend his 2017 tax overhaul, with a few notable changes that include lowering the corporate income tax rate to 15 percent from the current 21 percent. That also involves rolling back Democratic President Joe Biden’s income tax hikes on the wealthiest Americans and scrapping Inflation Reduction Act levies that finance energy measures intended to combat climate change.
Those policies notwithstanding, Trump has put more emphasis on new proposals aimed at working- and middle class Americans: exempting earned tips, Social Security wages and overtime wages from income taxes. It’s noteworthy, however, that his proposal on tips, depending on how Congress might write it, could give a back-door tax break to top wage earners by allowing them to reclassify some of their pay as tip income — a prospect that at its most extreme could see hedge-fund managers or top-flight attorneys taking advantage of a policy that Trump frames as being designed for restaurant servers, bartenders and other service workers.
Tariffs and trade
Trump’s posture on international trade is to distrust world markets as harmful to American interests. He proposes tariffs of 10 percent to 20 percent on foreign goods — and in some speeches has mentioned even higher percentages. He promises to reinstitute an August 2020 executive order requiring that the federal government buy “essential” medications only from US companies. He pledges to block purchases of “any vital infrastructure” in the US by Chinese buyers.
DEI, LGBTQ and civil rights
Trump has called for rolling back societal emphasis on diversity and for legal protections for LGBTQ citizens. Trump has called for ending diversity, equity and inclusion programs in government institutions, using federal funding as leverage.
On transgender rights, Trump promises generally to end “boys in girls’ sports,” a practice he insists, without evidence, is widespread. But his policies go well beyond standard applause lines from his rally speeches. Among other ideas, Trump would roll back the Biden administration’s policy of extending Title IX civil rights protections to transgender students, and he would ask Congress to require that only two genders can be recognized at birth.
Regulation, federal bureaucracy and presidential power
The president-elect seeks to reduce the role of federal bureaucrats and regulations across economic sectors. Trump frames all regulatory cuts as an economic magic wand. He pledges precipitous drops in US households’ utility bills by removing obstacles to fossil fuel production, including opening all federal lands for exploration — even though US energy production is already at record highs. Trump promises to unleash housing construction by cutting regulations — though most construction rules come from state and local government. He also says he would end “frivolous litigation from the environmental extremists.”
The approach would in many ways strengthen executive branch influence. That power would come more directly from the White House.
He would make it easier to fire federal workers by classifying thousands of them as being outside civil service protections. That could weaken the government’s power to enforce statutes and rules by reducing the number of employees engaging in the work and, potentially, impose a chilling effect on those who remain.
Trump also claims that presidents have exclusive power to control federal spending even after Congress has appropriated money. Trump argues that lawmakers’ budget actions “set a ceiling” on spending but not a floor — meaning the president’s constitutional duty to “faithfully execute the laws” includes discretion on whether to spend the money. This interpretation could set up a court battle with Congress.
As a candidate, he also suggested that the Federal Reserve, an independent entity that sets interest rates, should be subject to more presidential power. Though he has not offered details, any such move would represent a momentous change to how the US economic and monetary systems work.
Education
The federal Department of Education would be targeted for elimination in a second Trump administration. That does not mean that Trump wants Washington out of classrooms. He still proposes, among other maneuvers, using federal funding as leverage to pressure K-12 school systems to abolish tenure and adopt merit pay for teachers and to scrap diversity programs at all levels of education. He calls for pulling federal funding “for any school or program pushing Critical Race Theory, gender ideology, or other inappropriate racial, sexual, or political content on our children.”
In higher education, Trump proposes taking over accreditation processes for colleges, a move he describes as his “secret weapon” against the “Marxist Maniacs and lunatics” he says control higher education. Trump takes aim at higher education endowments, saying he will collect “billions and billions of dollars” from schools via “taxing, fining and suing excessively large private university endowments” at schools that do not comply with his edicts. That almost certainly would end up in protracted legal fights.
As in other policy areas, Trump isn’t actually proposing limiting federal power in higher education but strengthening it. He calls for redirecting the confiscated endowment money into an online “American Academy” offering college credentials to all Americans without a tuition charges. “It will be strictly non-political, and there will be no wokeness or jihadism allowed— none of that’s going to be allowed,” Trump said on Nov. 1, 2023.
Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid
Trump insists he would protect Social Security and Medicare, popular programs geared toward older Americans and among the biggest pieces of the federal spending pie each year. There are questions about how his proposal not to tax tip and overtime wages might affect Social Security and Medicare. If such plans eventually involved only income taxes, the entitlement programs would not be affected. But exempting those wages from payroll taxes would reduce the funding stream for Social Security and Medicare outlays. Trump has talked little about Medicaid during this campaign, but his first administration reshaped the program by allowing states to introduce work requirements for recipients.
Affordable Care Act and Health Care
As he has since 2015, Trump calls for repealing the Affordable Care Act and its subsidized health insurance marketplaces. But he still has not proposed a replacement: In a September debate, he insisted he had the “concepts of a plan.” In the latter stages of the campaign, Trump played up his alliance with former presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime critic of vaccines and of pesticides used in US agriculture. Trump repeatedly told rally crowds that he would put Kennedy in charge of “making America healthy again.”
Climate and energy
Trump, who claims falsely that climate change is a “hoax,” blasts Biden-era spending on cleaner energy designed to reduce US reliance on fossil fuels. He proposes an energy policy – and transportation infrastructure spending – anchored to fossil fuels: roads, bridges and combustion-engine vehicles. “Drill, baby, drill!” was a regular chant at Trump rallies. Trump says he does not oppose electric vehicles but promises to end all Biden incentives to encourage EV market development. Trump also pledges to roll back Biden-era fuel efficiency standards.
Workers’ rights
Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance framed their ticket as favoring America’s workers. But Trump could make it harder for workers to unionize. In discussing auto workers, Trump focused almost exclusively on Biden’s push toward electric vehicles. When he mentioned unions, it was often to lump “the union bosses and CEOs” together as complicit in “this disastrous electric car scheme.” In an Oct. 23, 2023, statement, Trump said of United Auto Workers, “I’m telling you, you shouldn’t pay those dues.”
National defense and America’s role in the world
Trump’s rhetoric and policy approach in world affairs is more isolationist diplomatically, non-interventionist militarily and protectionist economically than the US has been since World War II. But the details are more complicated. He pledges expansion of the military, promises to protect Pentagon spending from austerity efforts and proposes a new missile defense shield — an old idea from the Reagan era during the Cold War. Trump insists he can end Russia’s war in Ukraine and the Israel-Hamas war, without explaining how. Trump summarizes his approach through another Reagan phrase: “peace through strength.” But he remains critical of NATO and top US military brass. “I don’t consider them leaders,” Trump said of Pentagon officials that Americans “see on television.” He repeatedly praised authoritarians like Hungary’s Viktor Orban and Russia’s Vladimir Putin.
 


President-elect Trump names Susie Wiles as chief of staff

Updated 31 min 21 sec ago
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President-elect Trump names Susie Wiles as chief of staff

WASHINGTON: President-elect Donald Trump has named Susie Wiles, the manager of his victorious campaign, as his White House chief of staff.
Wiles is widely credited within and outside Trump’s inner circle for running what was, by far, his most disciplined and well-executed campaign. She largely avoided the spotlight, even refusing to take the mic to speak as Trump celebrated his victory early Wednesday morning.
“Susie is tough, smart, innovative, and is universally admired and respected. Susie will continue to work tirelessly to Make America Great Again,” Trump said in a statement. “It is a well deserved honor to have Susie as the first-ever female Chief of Staff in United States history. I have no doubt that she will make our country proud.”
Wiles is a longtime Florida-based Republican strategist who ran Trump’s campaign in the state in 2016 and 2020. Before that, she ran Rick Scott’s 2010 campaign for Florida governor and briefly served as the manager of former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman’s 2012 presidential campaign.

Chad army inflicts ‘many dead’ on Boko Haram extremists

Updated 17 min 23 sec ago
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Chad army inflicts ‘many dead’ on Boko Haram extremists

N’DJAMENA: Chad’s military inflicted “many dead and wounded” in air strikes against Boko Haram jihadists, President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno said on Thursday.
“We carried out several air strikes on enemy positions that resulted in many dead and wounded,” Deby told reporters in the Lake Chad region, without giving specific numbers.
Deby, who gave an interview in full military fatigues, said he had “personally” launched the counter-attack against Boko Haram, which targeted the Chadian army in an attack last month in the western region, close to the border with Nigeria.
The Chad government had vowed to “obliterate” Boko Haram when launching its operation in late October after the jihadists killed around 40 people and wounded dozens more in a raid on a military garrison.
The operation “aims not only to secure our peaceful population” but also to “hunt down, root out and obliterate the capability of Boko Haram and its affiliates to cause harm,” interim Prime Minister Abderahim Bireme Hamid told reporters last week.
In a vast expanse of water and swamps, the Lake Chad region’s countless islets serve as hideouts for jihadist groups, such as Boko Haram and its offshoot Islamic State in West Africa (ISWAP), who carry out regular attacks on the country’s army and civilians.
Chad and its neighbors Nigeria, Niger and Cameroon set up a multinational force of some 8,500 soldiers in the area in 2015 to tackle the jihadists.
Boko Haram launched an insurgency in Nigeria in 2009, leaving more than 40,000 people dead, and the organization has since spread to neighboring countries.
In March 2020, the Chadian army suffered its biggest ever one-day losses in the region, when around 100 troops died in a raid on the lake’s Bohoma peninsula.
 


Undocumented immigrants in US ‘terrified’ as Trump returns

Updated 08 November 2024
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Undocumented immigrants in US ‘terrified’ as Trump returns

  • Trump repeatedly rail against illegal immigrants during the election campaign
PHOENIX: Since learning that Donald Trump will return to the White House, undocumented immigrant Angel Palazuelos has struggled to sleep.
The 22-year-old, a graduate student in biomedical engineering who lives in Phoenix, Arizona, is haunted by the incoming president’s promises of mass deportations.
“I was terrified,” said Palazuelos, reflecting on the moment he heard the news.
“I am in fear of being deported, of losing everything that I’ve worked so hard for, and, most importantly, being separated from my family.”
Born in Mexico, he has lived in the United States since he was four years old. He is one of the country’s so-called “Dreamers,” a term for migrants who were brought into the country as children and never obtained US citizenship.
Throughout the election campaign, Palazuelos heard Trump repeatedly rail against illegal immigrants, employing violent rhetoric about those who “poison the blood” of the United States.
Trump has never specified how he intends to go about his plan for mass deportation, which experts warn would be extremely complicated and expensive.
“What do mass deportations mean? Who does that include?” Palazuelos asked.
“Does it include people like me, Dreamers, people that came here from a very young age, that had no say?“
Compounding the stress, the southwestern state of Arizona has just approved by referendum a law allowing state police to arrest illegal immigrants. That power was previously reserved for federal border police.
If the proposition is deemed constitutional by courts, Palazuelos fears becoming the target of heightened racial profiling.
“What makes someone a suspect of being here illegally, whether they don’t speak English?” he asked.
“My grandma, she’s a United States citizen, however, she doesn’t speak English very well. Meanwhile, I speak English, but is it because of the color of my skin that I would possibly be suspected or detained?“
Jose Patino, 35, also feels a sense of “dread” and “sadness.” His situation feels more fragile than ever.
Born in Mexico and brought to the United States aged six, he now works for Aliento, a community organization helping undocumented immigrants.
He personally benefited from the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) immigrant policy brought in by Barack Obama, offering protections and work permits for those in his situation.
But for Patino, those safeguards will expire next year, and Trump has promised to end the DACA program.
Indeed, Trump already tried to dismantle it during his previous term, but his decree was scuppered by a US Supreme Court decision, largely on procedural grounds.
Faced with this uncertainty, Patino is considering moving to a state that would refuse to report him to federal authorities, such as Colorado or California.
He remembers well the struggle of being undocumented in his twenties — a time when he could not obtain a basic job like flipping burgers in McDonald’s, and could not apply for a driver’s license or travel for fear of being deported.
“I don’t personally want to go back to that kind of life,” Patino said.
For him, Trump’s electoral win is not just scary, but an insult.
“We’re contributing to this country. So that’s the hard part: me following the rules, working, paying my taxes, helping this country grow, that’s not enough,” he said.
“So it’s frustrating, and it’s hurtful.”
Patino understands why so many Hispanic voters, often faced with economic difficulties, ended up voting for Trump.
Those who are here legally “believe that they’re not going to be targeted,” he said.
“A lot of Latinos associate wealth and success with whiteness, and they want to be part of that group and to be included, rather than be outside of it and be marginalized and be considered ‘the other,’” he said.
Still, he is angry with his own uncles and cousins who, having once been undocumented themselves, voted for Trump.
“We cannot have a conversation together, because it’s going to get into argument and probably into a fight,” he said.