Muslims prayed following a protest to mark the one year anniversary of the Trump administration’s executive order banning travel into the U.S. from several Muslim majority countries, in Washington Square Park, 26 January, 2018 in New York City.

Faith groups protested on Friday, 26 January, 2018 against ongoing efforts by the Trump administration to institute a ban on travel by residents of a number of Muslim-majority countries.

The demonstration in New York’s Washington Square Park took place a year after Donald Trump’s first executive order setting out the ban, which has been blocked by the courts. The US Supreme Court has agreed to decide the legality of the latest version of Mr Trump’s ban, which affects residents from six countries instead of the original seven. It pits an administration that considers the restrictions necessary for Americans’ security against challengers who claim it is illegally aimed at Muslims and stems from Mr Trump’s campaign call for a “complete shutdown of Muslims” entering the US. The policy blocks entry into the US of most people from Chad, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen.

Protesters linked arms around the group of Muslim demonstrators who knelt to pray in Washington Square Park.

Rev Dr Chloe Breyer, from the Interfaith Centre of New York, told Huffington Post: “It’s practically important and symbolically important to stand with people of different faith traditions. It’s what we should do as Americans.”

Continue reading at: The Independent