Although there is no denying that Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump truly wants to put an end to the global scourge of terrorism, his statements addressing this issue are proving to be counter-productive and actually aiding the terrorists, counter-terrorism experts and human rights advocates say.
For instance, Trump is actually doing the Islamic State (ISIS) a favour when he called for closing America's door to all incoming Muslims, the experts told NBC News on Tuesday.
"They [terrorists] love him from the sense that he is supporting their rhetoric," said Rita Katz with the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors the social media activities of Islamic terrorist groups.
"They follow everything Donald Trump says," she noted. "When he says, 'No Muslims should be allowed in America,' they tell people, 'We told you America hates Muslims and here is proof.'"
David Phillips, director of the Program on Peace-Building and Rights at Columbia University's Institute for the Study of Human Rights, said Trump's comments "undermine efforts to drain the swamp of support for radical Islamists by stoking rage that inspires jihad against the West."
"Trump's incendiary anti-Muslim comments will surely be used by ISIS social media to demonise the United States and attract recruits to fight in Iraq and Syria," Phillips said.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the largest Muslim advocacy group in the U.S., shared the same thought, with CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper saying, "We firmly believe that Donald Trump is doing the work of ISIS.
Earlier, a self-made Arab billionaire told NBC News he regretted backing Trump earlier in the campaign. Khalaf al Habtoor said he was shocked by Trump's comments. "He is creating a hatred between Muslims and the United States of America," al Habtoor said.
The U.S. Department of Defense also weighed in on the issue with Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook telling a news briefing that feeding into the ISIS' narrative that the U.S. is at war with Islam "is certainly not only contrary to our values but contrary to our national security."
Trump has so enraged some people that his harshest critics online have even proposed an alternative to his anti-terrorism policies: Assassinate him instead, according to WND.
"Can we kill Trump?" a woman named Tijani tweeted.
"Now he wants to impede Muslims from entering the U.S.? Someone really needs to kill trump ASAP," wrote a user identified as Aldo.
"ISIS needs to kill Trump," wrote a woman named Jodie.
One notable criticism came from "Harry Potter" author J.K. Rowling. The Scottish writer posted a link on Twitter to a BBC article headlined "Why people are calling American businessman Donald Trump Voldemort," the Los Angeles Times reported.
Some Twitter users responded to Trump's proposal to ban Muslim entry to the U.S. by comparing him to Lord Voldemort, the "Dark Lord" and Harry Potter's archenemy in the Rowling novels.
"How horrible," Rowling commented. "Voldemort was nowhere near as bad."
