I am a Muslim and I would vote for Trump

On July 30, 1788, William Lancaster (an anti-federalist delegate to the North Carolina Convention) warned the participants of the possibility of a Muslim becoming the President of the United States and that there was nothing in the constitution against it. I can only see two scenarios where a Muslim could become the President of the United States.

First, when all of America becomes Muslim, it would be their prerogative right to elect one of their own. Second, when all of the values, principles, beliefs and rights America stands for can only be found in someone who is a Muslim, then a Muslim should be the President of America. Fast forward two and a quarter centuries and a more appropriate question now is, “Can Trump be the President of the United States?” And the scenarios remain the same: all of America becomes the like of Trump and all of the values America stands for can only be found in someone like Trump. If that’s the case, as it increasingly seems to be, then Trump should indeed be the President of America.

Trump is not merely a name; it is a mindset, a phenomenon to cash on peoples’ sentiments, to fire-up their inner desires that cannot be expressed otherwise due to societal norms and common belief-sets given by the constitution of the country we are deciding to vote for. It is a psychological war, a hate-mongering marathon, an almost communist propaganda to give the power, influence, rights and wealth where they do not belong. And now the changing America wants us to believe in that.

By the way, America is not changing, it has already changed right before our eyes since the past 20 years or so and we’re busy enough not to witness this evolution. Do you know that all six U.S Nobel Laureates of 2016 are immigrants? Do you know the majority of US universities are led by foreign-born academicians? Do you know foreign-born professors make up almost 40% of US engineering professors? Do you know 51% of billion-dollar startups in US are founded by immigrants? Do you know you can’t find a reasonable sized hospital in the US without an immigrant doctor? Do you know you can’t find a construction site in the US without a Mexican, Hispanic or someone from South America working as a worker there? Do you know America has outsourced 2.3 million jobs to the world in 2015 alone for the cheaper and better workforce for as little as 25 cents to $1 an hour?

Do you know that 13.3% of the total immigrant population contributes to roughly 3% of the highly skilled workforce in the US? Do you know immigrants drive the real-estate market and property prices in the US? Do you know the contribution of immigrants in US innovation, where 24% of bachelors and 47% of PhDs in science and engineering are immigrants? Do you know the immigrant science and engineering workers account for more than half of the net increase in the US science and engineering workforce? Do you know that the top ten US companies alone have more than 20,000 job openings that immigrants can fill easily? Do you know that native born US citizens’ percentage in STEM programs has dropped from 74% in 1985 to 54% in 2006? Do you know that 40% of Fortune 500 companies are created by first or second generation immigrants that create 10 million jobs and yield $4.2 trillion in revenues? Do you know that seven out of top ten global brands are founded by 1st or 2nd generation immigrants (Apple, AT&T, Google, GE, IBM, Marlboro and McDonalds)?

Do you know 60% of Top 25 tech companies are founded by immigrants? Do you know that 42% of scientists in top US cancer research centers are foreign-born? Do you know a single H1B visa holder creates almost five new jobs for native-born Americans? Do you know that roughly 15% of the US economy is driven by immigrants? Do you know that healthcare in US alone employs 1.8 million foreign-born workers? Do you know that 60% of foreign US students are enrolled in STEM? (Walk into any college graduation and witness personally). Do you know 55% of PhD students in engineering, 45% of PhD physicists working in the US, 50% of the US Math Olympiad team, 30% of US Physics team, 25% of Intel Science talent search team, 60% of top science students, 65% of top math students, and 80% of post-doctoral chemical and mechanical engineering workforce is foreign born? Do you know international students make up 70% of Rice and Carnegie Mellon University’s graduate program and this percentage goes up to 94% for universities like San Diego State and Texas A&M? And do you know what is common between Goldman Sachs, DuPont, CapitalOne, Pfizer, Merck, OmniCare, Sun Microsystems, Google, Intel, Verizon, eBay, AT&T, Qualcomm, Comcast, Kraft, Sara Lee, Kohl’s, Chobani, Nordstrom, P&G, TJX, Honeywell, Big Lots, BJ’s, Radio Shack, General Dynamics, Cigna, Eaton, Fidelity? They are founded by immigrants.

And yet, we are rapists, should be banned to enter, and a wall should be built to restrict the transfer of us zombies into the United States. We work tirelessly so that America can afford the luxury of their work-life balance; we work more, get paid less than our American counterparts, endure being harassed and stereotyped. The probability of picking us “randomly” for security clearance or secondary interview at the airport is 100%. Let me ask you one thing: look at my face, an educated, bearded man from Pakistan, who left behind everything for the opportunity America has to offer. I am everything America stands for: education, opportunity, free-will, tolerance, better life, justice and humanity. We didn’t come here to be politicised, to be used and abused for your election rhetoric, to corroborate our sufferings and be labelled according to your whims.

I guess time has come for us to part ways. America enjoys the hegemonic power of Supreme Being. For anything that happens in my country, America is either responsible for that due to our national sports (conspiracy theories) or America is responsible to give us money to get out of that problem. We always look up to America. Now is the time that we own our own problems and I truly believe Donald Trump can help us do that. At the same time, America will also realise how much we helped her to become what it is today and how not to vandalise the sentiments of her friends. Seeing my own son at the bare age of seven, bullied and attacked for being Muslim in America, tells me a different story. It is not the America I’ve left everything for, it is not the America I have studied in, it is not the America I believe in and it is not the America where I wish to raise my family. Enough is enough; the best way to cure this is to vote for Donald Trump, so that America can see the sufferings we immigrants are going through and understand what it feels like to be part of something you have nothing to do with. He can certainly make America great again, a great that no one will care about. America is the best place on earth to give you the environment to nurture and grow and become whatever you want to be. I guess this is Donald Trump’s turn now. Let’s vote for Donald Trump; it would be quite an entertainment to see him as the President of the United States and the commander in-chief of US forces.

God bless America! Donald Trump has won my vote!

This article originally appeared here.