US Presidential hopeful Donald Trump is facing a fierce backlash after calling for a "total and complete shutdown of Muslims" entering the country, after recent attacks in Paris and California.
The Republican personality, was lambasted by pundits and subjected to heavy media scrutiny for remarking to reporters: "Without looking at the various polling data, it is obvious to anybody the hatred is beyond comprehension.
"Where this hatred comes from and why we will have to determine.
"Until we are able to determine and understand this problem and the dangerous threat it poses, our country cannot be the victims of horrendous attacks by people that believe only in Jihad, and have no sense of reason or respect for human life."
Trump's policy proposal prompted cries of disbelief and outrage by commentators on both sides of the Atlantic.
One US tabloid newspaper led the charge, splashing on news of Trump's policy proposal with a picture of him with his arm raised, captioned: "The new furor".
A similar editorial tack was chosen by the Times of Israel.
While pundits' reaction ranged from the incensed...
...to abject mockery.
But Trump's call to bar Muslim immigration into the US is just the latest in a series of anti-Islamic statements.
He previously suggested shuttering certain mosques in the US and claimed he saw footage of American Muslims cheering after the 9/11 attacks - footage no television network has been able to find.
There is some evidence that such anti-Muslim rhetoric has support among Republican Party voters.
According to Public Policy Polling, which has regularly polled voters on their attitudes toward Muslims, a significant portion of GOP primary voters in North Carolina, where Trump made his speech on Monday, believe Islam should be outright illegal in the United States.