WASHINGTON: Republican presidential front-runner
Donald Trump called Monday for barring all Muslims from entering the United States.
"Donald J. Trump is calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country's representatives can figure out what is going on," a campaign press release said.
Trump, who has previously called for surveillance against mosques and said he was open to establishing a database for all Muslims living in the U.S., made his latest controversial call in a news release.
His message comes in the wake of a deadly mass shooting in San Bernardino, California, by suspected
ISIS sympathizers and the day after President
Barack Obama asked the country not to "turn against one another" out of fear.
Trump's comments are likely to roil the Republican presidential race, forcing many of his opponents for the nomination to engage in a debate over whether there should be a religious test to enter America.
But his proposal was met with enthusiasm by many of his supporters, who showed their approval via social media as well as at his rally on Monday night.(CNN)