(RNS)– In the last days leading up to the 2024 governmental election, a big swath of American Muslims settled on something: None of the options for president was a great one.
As President-elect Donald J. Trump’s triumph ended up being clear in the early hours of Nov. 6, the Wednesday early morning quarterbacking started. While not a choosing element– nationwide exit surveys revealed that Trump won by stimulating his base and drawing Latino guys in higher numbers– the Muslim vote, for numerous, was indicated nevertheless to get the attention of political leaders, especially Democrats.
Specifically, Muslims voted their anger and sorrow over more than a year of war in Gaza and, more just recently, in Lebanon. With the Democratic administration supporting and equipping Israel, electing Kamala Harris ended up being for numerous an unlikely option, and voting an agonizing choice. “No one who desired Kamala to lose desired Trump,” stated a Muslim organizer in Michigan who wished to stay confidential. “No one who desired Kamala to lose (didn’t) feel sorry for Blacks. Their household members are passing away now“
An exit survey carried out by the Council on American-Islamic Relations revealed 54% of Muslims chose Green Party prospect Jill Stein, 21% for Trump and 20% for Harris, with another 3% ballot for other third-party hopefuls. In Michigan, Stein drew 59% and Harris simply 14%, according to CAIR, with other prospects getting about the very same share as nationally.
The size of the choose Trump took numerous Muslim political and governmental careerists by surprise, offered his pledge of mass deportations and his previous efforts to prohibit Muslims from getting in the nation. As an entire, the election left Muslim Americans asking whether their neighborhood’s dissenting vote was efficient. Will turning down the Democrats’ “usual, usual” message gain anything?
Youssef Chouhoud, a government teacher at Christopher Newport University, stated inspirations behind third-party votes are lost. While “there’s a push towards more engagement outside the two-party design,” he stated, numerous chose a 3rd party out of “fantastical, fairy-tale thinking of how we’re going to break the duopoly. I believed that was honestly careless. By that exact same token, I believed the folks who were pedaling (Gaza) as a single celebration concern were likewise honestly reckless.”
The Michigan organizer stated discussions are swirling– Muslim Democrats didn’t represent the neighborhood’s Gaza issues all right, some state; Harris hardly pointed out Gaza in her project, others mention; Trump pointed out American Muslims in his success speech, which Harris never ever would have done.
Those who baffled for Harris, on the other hand, mention that Democrats’ neglecting the predicament of Gaza and Palestine, while a dreadful thing, is a single-issue vote that might be resolved as soon as Harris won and took workplace.
Therefore a decades-old dispute raised its head: Should American Muslims disengage with standard political and governmental work and stop looking for a seat at the table? Whether American Muslim political and civic leaders or federal government careerists need to continue to work within the nation’s two-party system is a numeration going on in numerous WhatsApp group talks,