Remember that Iran and the U.S. have had strained relations for a while -- their ban doesn't really come as too much of a shock; this is probably seen as a provocation by the U.S. against Iran and an attack/persecution of the state religion. It's unlikely that Jordan, Egypt (who were actually enforcing the ban), and other known allies (i.e. places that tend to offer Fulbrights awards to U.S. students) will issue a similar ban! The real concern isn't at the governmental level, it's the citizens of Middle Eastern countries' (and the world's) perception of America that I really worry about. We need people-to-people ambassadors now more than ever.
Still doesn't change the fact that this ban is really infuriating and just straight unconstitutional (first line, first amendment seems to say something about this...) and un-American. My family came to America as refugees. We aren't Muslim but the refugee camp my parents and siblings were in was in a Muslim country (who KINDLY took them in and treated them well when it was too dangerous for them to stay in their own country!) This feels too personal to me -- my family would never have the life we have now if we didn't have the opportunity to be Americans (we're all college graduates, including my parents who went back to school). America has never been perfect but we've always been a country that can make a mistake and move forward constructively. It seems like now as all our issue come to the surface, rather than work through them with compassion, we're succumbing to fear and paranoia.
