Dear Sir,

Donald Trump has proven to be a smart businessman, but not so smart a politician or yet to be statesman.

His latest rhetoric about banning Muslims from the United States has a lot of holes in it.

It’s like bringing out the National Guard with tanks and machineguns to destroy a beehive.

First, Mr Trump must define what is a Muslim? Does he mean everyone in the Middle East who has an Arabic name? If so, does he include Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and, of course, most of Africa? Everyone born in the family of those with Arabic or so-called Muslim names? Who is he referring to?

Twenty-one of the 23 nations in the world who are operating economically in the black — ie, have surplus — are Muslim countries.

America, but for its military, is still in financial trouble and a worldwide ban on Muslims will turn its economy into a complete nosedive.

The people will just be forced to go wherever they can to trade, and the extremist he is trying to protect Americans from will just concentrate on American overseas interests and have a licence to go after Americans everywhere other than America.

America would become isolated, not the world of Muslims. America does not have 1.5 billion people.

The equivalent of the Trump policy is like a tiny sect of Christians, let’s say Pentecostals, causing trouble and therefore invoking a ban on all Christians on the basis that every Christian is a potential Pentecostal.

Trump’s rhetoric may garner him some emotional support, but makes no practical sense.

Some of the best supporters to combat the Isis problem are Muslim.

The way to truly defeat it is to understand it and to be able to expose the untruth where it represents.

KHALID WASI