IS DONALD TRUMP A XENOPHOBE,  AN ISLAMOPHOBE, A RACIST OR A RELIGIOUS BIGOT?

Xenophobe, Islamophobe, racist, religious bigot ... More and more national and international name-calling and condemnation have been hurled at Mr Trump, yet his Republican voter approval has, in fact, risen further to 35% after his proposal to bar Muslims from entering his country.

Trump’s national policy adviser, Sam Clovis, had explained that the plan is a reasonable way for his country to “stop, take a break, have a look and make sure everything is cool”.

If we do not misunderstand him, his reasoning goes something like this: yes, the vast majority of Muslims are good and peaceful people and though a very small number of people are terrorists, the unfortunate thing is the majority of terrorists are Muslims or proclaim themselves to be Muslims. It is hard to understand why these terrorists are so full of hatred and violence towards Americans. We need to try to understand why and devise an appropriate long-term plan to counter them. Meanwhile, as a temporary measure, stopping Muslim entry will theoretically stop new entry of most terrorists. This should buy us some time to rethink our counter-terrorist strategy.

If seen in this light, what Mr Trump is proposing has nothing to do with xenophobia, Islamophobia, racism or religious bigotry; but a practical though unprecedented measure to ensure national security and the protection of innocent American lives. The question is: can our heads be cool enough to think this way?

I don't know whether Mr Trump is a xenophobe, a Islamophobe, a racist or a religious bigot; but I can empathize with his intentions.