#DontStopIslam

On Tuesday, the world watched as Brussels, Belgium dealt with the aftermath of a terrorist attack that left 31 dead and over 100 injured. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant has already taken responsibility for the attack, which comes only four days after Salah Abdeslam, the main perpetrator of the November terrorist attack in France, was captured by Belgian officials.

This disaster coincides deeply with the presidential election right around the corner. Presidential candidates took to Twitter to express their concerns over the recent event. Between the final five candidates, all of whom differ greatly in their respective positions on foreign policy, the responses to the attack have been all over the spectrum.

Republican candidates Donald Trump and Ted Cruz took the most extreme side of the final five candidates, both arguing that one of the best ways to get rid of terrorism problems like this one is to monitor all Muslims.

In Cruz’s initial statement issued on Tuesday morning, he boldly stated that Muslim neighborhoods need to be monitored by law enforcement to stop radicalization.

And then, of course, there was Trump who has made some of the most radical statements, but nothing like we have not yet seen from this Republican candidate. In an interview with CBS News, Trump said that people from certain parts of the world, like Syria, without documentation, “should not be allowed in our country” because “they could be related to ISIS.”

This commonplace Trump rhetoric will likely fuel the anger that many young, right-wing Americans have toward the idea of terrorism in the 21st century. While the other Republican candidates seek to keep in touch with the emotional aspect of this detrimental event, Trump seems to use this issue as a strong-arm for his campaign on terrorism, which rolls into his radical foreign policy.

Although Cruz also aims to utilize law enforcement to stop radicalization as part of his foreign policy, Trump’s dangerous positioning as the highest polling candidate in the GOP offers him a possibility to enact his policy as he nears closer and closer to the White House. Cruz has become a caricature in the scheme of the presidential race and his positioning on the what should be somber event is rather aggressive.

The solution isn’t to monitor all Muslims or #StopIslam, a recent trending hashtag after the events in Brussels. Nor should we look to our Commander-in-Chief as a source of anger in desperate times. Our job as a nation is to be supportive of our international brethren and provide aid if necessary, not fuel the anger of individuals who might want to seek revenge against terrorist organizations. In all honesty, we think that it’s time to start seriously considering the Democratic candidates.