Manic or panic disorder!

Last Sunday towards the end of evening prayers at a Mosque in Quebec, two terrorists wearing black water proof jackets opened fire on dozens of worshipers.

Six were   killed and eight injured out of the 50 who had come to the prayers .But the dark symbolism of the terror attack in the choice of the target and the backdrop in which it took place goes beyond the casualty figures.

The attack came following Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's open arms policy to receive Muslim immigrants and refugees affected by Trump's 'temporary' ban on their entry into the US. The so-called suspension of arrivals since last Sunday aiming at extreme vetting of applicants sparked travel chaos and outrage around the world.

But see the force of conviction of the Canadian prime minister after the incident. Not only has he reiterated  his commitment to  shelter the refugees, he has also made a reassuring statement, "Muslim Canadians are an important part of our national  fabric, and these senseless acts  have no place in our communities, city and country."

Now, is there any connection between the Mosque attack and Trump's 'suspension' of Muslim arrivals? It could not have been a mere coincidence—that's for sure. You may not  rule out that  hired or self-enthused  killers went on a retaliatory mission to warn Trudeau against his principled  welcome to Muslim refugees.

This seems likely from the arrest and indictment in Quebec of Alexandre Bissonnette, a 27 –year –old university student. Known as a Far-right , ultra-nationalist, white supremacist, he has been booked on six counts of first degree murder.

The rise of the Far-right feeding off the scare-mongering on migration is becoming a phenomenon across the West. Only in recent times, have they transformed from being fringe elements to having a considerable share in the vote-banks. In this context, extremist utterances and policies of leaders could foment xenophobic outbursts.       .

On the other hand, Islamic extremists could predictably take dual advantage of harsh and discriminatory measures being taken against Muslims or selected Muslim countries .While they are happy at the spike in the alienation between communities they could exploit the anger to incite a terrorist cell into a violent act.

Muslim ban has set off reactions within the United States itself. The upshots have been on different levels: Justice system, beaucracy and inter- and intra-- party caucuses.

 Sally Yates, the acting Attorney General was fired by Trump because she considered the travel ban as unlawful, and therefore not worthy of implementation.

This reminded political pundits of the Dark Saturday Massacre of the Water Gate scandal. Nixon dismissed independent special prosecutor Archibald Cox at an advance stage of the Watergate investigations. As a result, two attorney generals resigned leaving the country gripped by a constitutional crisis. Well, before the Water Gate blow-out there were muffled murmurs of things to come and they did. 

A hundred State Department officials have aired their disagreement with a travel  ban  applicable to people  solely  on  religious grounds .The discrimination is palpable when the official policy favours  Christian refugees.

President Trump has brought forward the Supreme Court judge appointment process apparently to divert attention from the protests. After he has picked his nominees,they will  have to be confirmed by the Senate. Trump has an important stake in the SC equations.

Most people think that Trump has yet to transform from the campaign time obsession with populist pledges to be acting presidential. He is still being drawn on to his populist freeway.

Nevertheless , two things that he is thatching on are;1) Polls show that 56 percent voters agree with his action on migration; and 2), according to Homeland Security, the ban on the seven countries  has been  allegedly prompted by their intelligence non-cooperation in the US vetting of their citizens.      

Recently, however,  Donald has made an unguarded utterance .After making the observation that the US should have taken over the oil assets of Iraq'. May be next time', he reportedly added.

Let me end with two quotes from a Guardian opinion piece written by David Shariat  Madari: "An apocalyptic view of Islamic terrorism is the threat that connects the  key figures  of Trump administration underpinning the week - end migration chaos."

Then he asks a million dollar question, "But is the ramped up rhetoric going to give them what they want?"           

The writer is a current affairs commentator and former Associate Editor, The Daily Star.

Email:shahhusainimam@gmail.com