Pichai speaks out against anti-Muslim vibes in the US

In his blog, the Google CEO questioned the hatred against Muslims, which has been a talking point in the campaign ahead of the US Presidential elections

Two days after Facebook founder and Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg spoke out against rising intolerance against Muslims, particularly in the United States, his Google counterpart, Sundar Pichai, raised similar concerns.

Indian-born Pichai questioned the hatred against Muslims, which has been a talking point in the campaign ahead of the US presidential elections.

“It’s so disheartening to see the intolerant discourse playing out in the news these days — statements that our country would be a better place without the voices, ideas and the contributions of certain groups of people, based solely on where they come from, or their religion,” Pichai wrote in a blog post.

Pichai opened the post by saying that he felt fortunate to be part of the US in the same way he felt when he was growing up in India. Although Pichai agreed that America was the land of opportunities, he identified open-mindedness, tolerance and acceptance of new Americans as their defining characteristics. “And that is no coincidence — America, after all, was and is a country of immigrants.”

The recent terror attacks in Paris and in West Asia by the Islamic State (ISIS) have sparked outrage in the US, where ordinary Muslims are targeted for the acts of the terror outfit. This has also resulted in campaigning against accepting refugees from terror struck-regions such as Syria.

In addition to this, US Republican presidential candidate Donald J Trump on Monday called for barring all Muslims from entering the US. This caused a backlash, including from Zuckerberg, who voiced his support for Muslims through his Facebook post.

Pichai concludes his blog by emphasising the importance of speaking out, “particularly those of us who are not under attack”.

“Everyone has the right to their views, but it’s also important that those who are less represented know that those are not the views of all,” he added.