Trump Calls for Complete End to Muslim Immigration [UPDATED]

GOP frontrunner Trump wants "total and complete shutdown" of Muslims entering until we "figure out what is going on." He even means Muslim citizens currently out of country.

The Hill reports, from a Donald Trump campaign press release that can be seen in this tweet that the Republican presidential frontrunner wants to stop letting any Muslim immigrate to or even enter the country:

In a statement from his campaign, Trump called for a "total and complete shutdown" of Muslims entering the United States until elected leaders can "figure out what is going on." Trump is quoted in the statement as saying that a significant number of Muslims harbor a "hatred" towards America and as a result should be kept out of the country.

"Without looking at the various polling data, it is obvious to anybody the hatred is beyond comprehension. Where this hatred comes from and why we will have to determine," Trump said.

 "Until we are able to determine and understand this problem and the dangerous threat it poses, our country cannot be the victims of horrendous attacks by people that believe only in Jihad, and have no sense of reason or respect for human life."

So, upping the ante on radical demonizing of a religious-group Other, Mr. Trump? In a completely unrelated link, I wondered a while back about Trump if "fascism" might be the closest accurate designation of his blustery vague strongman national greatness crusade that sees most of our problems in either foreign or domestic Others.

The percentage of Muslim immigrants or otherwise present in America who cause any sort of problem because of the "hatred" Trump posits fills enough of their hearts to bar them all is, it should go without saying, vanishingly small.

Some context: Cathy Young's 2011 Reason feature on earlier conservative attempts to restrict the rights of peaceful Muslims in America. Back in April, Shikha Dalmia used the example of India to show that Muslims are peacefully assimilable in multi-religious democracies.

UPDATE: Does it keep getting crazier? It's Trump, of course it does. From a new Hill story:

When asked by The Hill whether [preventing any Muslim from entering] would include Muslim-American citizens currently abroad, Trump spokeswoman Hope Hicks replied over email: "Mr. Trump says, 'everyone.'"

UPDATE II: Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) spokesperson in this tweet from CNBC's John Harwood apparently wants to convince anti-Muslim elements that he's got their number as well, though his recommendations don't apply across the board to all Muslims.

But as Paul said in a press release reaction to Obama's speech last night: 

Immigration, visas, and refugees from countries with active terror networks must be halted while we determine how to better secure our borders and our people.

Shikha Dalmia and I have both critiqued Paul's immigrations stances in the recent past.