Trump would 'certainly implement' national database to scrutinise US Muslims

Trump says he would consider warrantless searches of Muslims and increased surveillance of mosques

In a statement that sparked immediate comparisons to the treatment of Jewish Germans in the Nazi era, US Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump said on Thursday that he would not rule out a special form of identification for Muslim Americans that noted their religion.

Trump said he was in favour of tracking Muslim Americans in a database or giving them "a special form of identification that noted their religion."



“We’re going to have to do things that were frankly unthinkable a year ago. Some people are going to be upset about it, but I think that now everybody is feeling that security is going to rule,” the Republican presidential candidate said.

Further, he said he would consider warrant-less searches of Muslims and increased surveillance of mosques. “Certain things will be done that we never thought would happen in this country in terms of information and learning about the enemy.”

“We’re going to have to look at a lot of things very closely. We’re going to have to look at the mosques. We’re going to have to look very, very carefully,” he continued.



Earlier this week, Trump also suggested police surveillance of mosques and praised a controversial programme by the NYPD to spy on Muslims as ‘great’. “I would consider former NYPD police commissioner Ray Kelly, who led that programme, for a cabinet position.”

In another shocking statement in September, Trump had said he would consider one man’s request that America “get rid of” Muslims.

At a town hall meeting in New Hampshire, a man asked Trump, “We have training camps growing where they want to kill us. That’s my question, when can we get rid of them?”



“We’re going to be looking at a lot of different things.  A lot of people are saying that, and a lot of people are saying that bad things are happening out there. We’re going to be looking at that and plenty of other things,” Trump responded.

This article originally appeared on Guardian