Blog

By ALIYAH FRUMIN – July 25, 2016 – NBC News

Donald Trump will cast a long shadow in September when Muslims across the U.S. gather to celebrate Eid al-Adha, known as the Feast of Sacrifice.

Now that Trump, whose anti-Muslim rhetoric has punctuated the campaign season, has secured the Republican presidential nomination, his candidacy could propel Muslim-Americans to head to the polls and vote against him.

“The rhetoric that Trump is putting out there is creating a lot of mobilization,” said Amaney Jamal, a politics professor at Princeton University who has studied Muslim American political participation and voting behavior.

In part to to help defeat Trump, Muslim organizations are banding together on Eid al-Adha to hold a national voter registration day at mosques and community centers in hopes of reaching their goal to register one million new voters.

And on Election Day, there will be plenty of buses on hand to take voters to cast their ballots.

While the U.S. Council of Muslim Organizations doesn’t endorse a particular candidate, if Trump doesn’t change his tone, the choice for Muslims will be obvious, said Oussama Jammal, secretary general of the council, who predicted Muslim American voter turnout would hit a historic high this year.

“Trump’s rhetoric has awakened the Muslim American community to their obligation and their right,” he said. So far, more than 300,000 new Muslim Americans have registered to vote, Jammal said.

Those voters are galvanized by what they see as a frightening and loathsome feature of Trump’s presidential campaign and troubled by the fact that never before in modern American history has this country had a major party presidential nominee whose campaign and supporters seem so hostile to Muslims.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, a key Trump surrogate who was being considered as a vice presidential candidate, recently called for the U.S. to test Muslims to see if they believe in Sharia law and deport those who do.

And a Muslim-American Trump supporter who delivered the closing benediction at this week’s Republican National Convention was overshadowed by a delegate who shouted “No Islam” during his remarks.

During his big speech on Thursday night, Trump himself once again reiterated his call for suspending immigration “from any nation that has been compromised by terrorism”— a somewhat evolved version of his previous call to ban Muslims from entering the country entirely.

“What this election has done more than any other election is that it’s put Muslim-Americans in this category of non-whites. Muslim Americans are not only seeing themselves as being discriminated against but developing a group conscious with Latinos, blacks and the LGBT community” — groups who overwhelmingly vote Democratic — “that sees themselves as being marginalized,” said Jamal, the Princeton politics professor.

Muslims have previously been the least likely faith group to be politically engaged, according to the nonpartisan Institute for Social and Policy Understanding. A recent studyfound only 60 percent of Muslims who said they could legally vote were registered to do so, compared to a combined 86 percent of Jews, Catholics and Protestants.

But could Muslim Americans — who represent approximately 1 percent of the population in the U.S. — make a difference?

Robert McCaw, the Council on American-Islamic Relation’s government affairs director, noted Muslim Americans are concentrated in several battleground states, like Ohio, Virginia and Florida.

“The American-Muslim community is well positioned in swing states….And Muslims knowing that one presidential candidate is directly opposed to their community’s interest will be a driving factor in getting Muslims to turn out the vote,” he said. A CAIR survey after Super Tuesday found Islamophobia was the most important issue for Muslim voters.

Presumed Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton seems to be capitalizing.During Trump’s speech on Thursday, she noted on Twitter that the GOPer said “I’m with you.” She wrote, “*Not included: women, African Americans, LGBT people, Muslims, Latinos, immigrants.”

Before the 2000 election, Muslim Americans tended to vote Republican. In fact, approximately 70 percent voted for George W. Bush that year. But since the 9/11 terror attacks, the vote has swung largely to Democrats. In 2008, a CAIR poll showed almost 90 percent voting for Barack Obama.

“You’re going to see a similar trend, if not more this year,” said Jamal. “I wouldn’t be surprised if it was 95 percent this upcoming election.”

Trump — who has previously said “Islam hates America,” argued without any evidence that “thousands” of Muslim Americans celebrated 9/11, and called for surveillance of mosques in the U.S. — has softened some of his rhetoric towards the group. While last year he proposed banning all Muslim travel to the U.S., he has since called for “extreme vetting” of people from “territories” with a history of terror.

Trump’s campaign did not respond to requests for comment.

Of course, not all Muslims oppose Trump.

Take Sajid Tarar, the founder of American Muslims for Trump, who spoke at the convention and believes the GOPer will go after terrorist groups in a way that Obama hasn’t.

And Saba Ahmed, president of the Republican Muslim Coalition, said that while Trump’s proposed ban is “unconstitutional and illegal,” she’ll back the real-estate mogul because of his economic policies and business background.

“Obviously, people are scared what a Donald Trump presidency would mean,” she said from the convention in Cleveland. “But at the same time, we can get involved to influence his views. He’s a Washington outsider, he can be influenced and he’s worked with Muslims all of his life. He has several businesses all over the Middle East.”

Ahmed, who says her recently-formed group has about 100 members, says they too will have their own voter registration drives, particularly in key swing states. She attended a luncheon at the convention that was attended by Trump and his running mate Mike Pence.

She recounted telling Pence: “We let him know there is Muslim American support” for the ticket.

VOA News – July 23, 2016

At an estimated 3.3 million, Muslim Americans represent a small portion of the American population. But the community could play an important role in so-called swing states during the upcoming presidential elections.

When the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a Washington-based rights organization, launched its 2016 Muslims Vote campaign, the goal was to lead 1 million Muslim constituents to the voting booths.

Robert McCaw, director of government affairs at CAIR, said campaign organizers across the nation would work within communities to make sure Islamic community centers have the tools they need to register voters.

According to the Pew Research Center, Muslims represent just 1 to 2 percent of the country’s population, but they tend to live in strategic places — swing states like Florida, Ohio and Virginia.

“When the vote is close, then in fact, the Muslim vote in those swing states can play a significant role. They … will be seen as a significant minority community,” Georgetown University Islamic studies professor John Esposito said.

Advantage: Democrats

Esposito, who directs the university’s Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, said, “There certainly are Republican Muslims but they are a significant minority, and given [Republican presidential nominee Donald] Trump’s position with regards to Muslims … I don’t see many Muslims being attracted to Trump.”

Trump has called for a temporary ban on Muslims entering the country and has praised the leadership of the late Saddam Hussein, who was deposed as Iraq’s president.

The campaign aimed at getting a million U.S. Muslims to register to vote will certainly play to the advantage of the Democratic candidate, Esposito said.

A February 2016 survey of 2,000 Muslim American voters by CAIR showed that two-thirds of them supported the Democratic Party, with 15 percent to 18 percent voicing support for the Republican Party.

CAIR notes that as of June 2016, there were 824,000 registered Muslim voters, and that more than 300,000 had registered since the 2012 presidential election.

Rather than pulling Muslim votes — or even Latino votes — to the Republican Party, Esposito said, Trump is pushing them away.

“A candidate might say, ‘These people don’t normally vote, or overwhelmingly, or significantly, for Republicans,’ but a candidate might say, ‘I can get some policies that would attract them,’ but Trump has done just the opposite,” Esposito added.

‘Fundamentally Republicans’

At this week’s Republican National Convention, Sajid Tarar, the founder and leader of a group called Muslims for Trump, told VOA that once people within the community learn more about Republican policies, they will connect them to personal safety, which might increase the number of Muslim Americans who would consider voting for the Republican candidate.

“The safety of America is the No. 1 priority for Donald Trump, and as a Muslim American, it’s my No. 1 priority as well,” Tarar told VOA this month.

Tarar said some Muslims are attracted to the Republican Party because of what they see as family values and support for family unity.

But only 11 percent of those surveyed in February said they supported Trump.

“We are fundamentally Republicans because we come from conservative countries with conservative values,” Tarar said.

McCaw and other members of CAIR also attended the Republican National Convention and said they had “one clear” message to deliver.

“That was for the Republican Party to make itself a welcoming place for American Muslims and to stop the practice of political Islamophobia,” he said.

By Gretel Kauffman – Christian Science Monitor – July 20, 2016

A campaign that aims to register one million Muslim voters by November is in full swing, as organizers and volunteers canvass college campuses, bus stations, and gas stations in Muslim neighborhoods across the United States.

The “One America” campaign, launched in December and spearheaded by the US Council of Muslim Organizations, is part of a broader effort among American Muslims to increase voter turnout for the 2016 presidential election. If successful, organizers say, the campaign could impact the outcome of the election and give Muslims a more prominent voice in American politics in the future.

Though “One America” does not endorse any specific candidate, leaders say many new voters have registered in response to strategies proposed by presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump to combat radical Islam, including a ban on Muslim immigrants to the US.

“We’re seeing an energy that is largely motivated by anti-Trump sentiment,” said Colin Christopher, the deputy director of government affairs at the Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center in Virginia, which has held voter education workshops, to The New York Times.

Since the last presidential election, more than 300,000 Muslims have registered to vote, according to the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). As of last month, there are 824,000 registered Muslim voters with traditionally Muslim names in the US, CAIR said, compared to about 500,000 voters in 2012. In a survey conducted shortly before the 2012 election, 91 percent of registered Muslim voters said they intended to vote.

In a Reuters interview, CAIR’s executive director, Nihad Awad, attributed the recent growth in political activity among Muslims to an “unprecedented rise in Islamophobia.” In the months following terrorist attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, Calif., last year, crimes against Muslim Americans nearly tripled, according to a study by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University.

The most effective way to combat anti-Muslim sentiment, advocacy groups say, is to get more Muslims into the voting booth. Campaigners have asked imams to encourage their congregations to register to vote, stood outside mosques to recruit worshippers, and launched a “National Open Mosque Day” to facilitate interactions between Muslims and people of other faiths.

If the campaign is successful, Muslim voters could have a significant impact in key swing states, such as Ohio and Florida, in the November general election.

“Although it is true that American Muslims constitute a small percentage of the national population, they are concentrated in key swing states such as Michigan, Ohio, Virginia, Pennsylvania and Florida,” wrote Farid Senzai, director of research at the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding, in the months prior to the 2012 election. “Despite being very diverse and far from monolithic, this constituency is growing faster than any other religious community and has become increasingly visible and sophisticated in its political engagement.”

With hundreds of thousands more American Muslims registered to vote in 2016, the community is now more visible than ever. A survey conducted by the Pew Research Center in 2011 suggests that this increased political engagement is good news for the Democratic Party: 70 percent of American Muslims surveyed consider themselves Democrats or Democratic-leaning, while just 11 percent said they identify more with the Republican party.

Meanwhile, though lesser-known and fewer in number, Muslim groups backing Mr. Trump are also attempting to drum up support in swing states.

At the Republican National Convention Tuesday night, Sajid Tarar, founder of the group American Muslims for Trump, took the stage to say a prayer“to get our country back.” In his brief benediction, he mentioned the prophet Muhammad, saying, “the values reflected by our leader must reflect the values of our forefathers.”

Mr. Tarar and other pro-Trump Muslims told Fusion in April that they agreed with many of the businessman’s controversial stances, which they say are often misinterpreted.

“The people who are doing wrong things like terrorism activities, he’s talking about that. Not about Muslims,” said one supporter, Mehmud Saleem. “Being Muslim, we condemn terrorism as well.”

Tarar says he doesn’t see any contradiction in Muslims supporting Trump and his proposed policies, as militant groups such as the Islamic State have killed more Muslims than non-Muslims, as The Christian Science Monitor has reported.

“The Quran says you need to be loyal to the country where you live,” he said. “We have to do every possible thing to make our country safe.”

Speaking at a recent convention held by the Islamic Circle of North America, Sam Rasoul, a Muslim member of the Virginia House of Delegates, stressed the importance of Muslim citizens becoming more involved in American politics, regardless of political views.

“With regards to civic involvement, any opportunity we have to get the community more involved I’m very excited about,” said Mr. Rasoul in a statement. “We need to bring it back to what voting and civic duty does for you as an individual. It’s not important to go vote so that someone can get elected, it’s important to go vote because that’s important for you, that’s your civic duty.”

By Billy Hallowell – Desert News – July 21 2016

Muslim Americans make up around 1 percent of the U.S. population, accounting for about 3.3 million people. But despite constituting such a small sliver of the populace, Muslim advocates are looking to increase their electoral influence.

Consider that the U.S. Council of Muslim Organizations, an umbrella group of Islamic organizations, has announced a number of initiatives of late, including a voter registration drive called the “Million Voters Registration Drive.”

The organization encourages Muslims via its website to set up voter registration booths and to register themselves to vote in the 2016 election.

“We recommend organizing these booths on a consistent basis in mosques, community events, and other major Muslim gatherings,” the website reads.

According to Reuters, imams have been encouraging increased voting participation, with campaign organizers going to colleges, bus stations and other gathering spots in areas populated by Muslims to try to garner support.

“We want the Muslim community to understand that if you give up your rights voluntarily, no one will come and give it back to you,” Osama Abu Irshaid, a board member of the council, told the outlet.

The get-out-the-vote effort has ramped up amid concern over claims of increased anti-Islamic sentiment after a series of terror attacks at the hands of the Islamic State group, as well as comments about Islam that Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has made over the past year.

Trump first sparked controversy and concern last year with a proposal to ban all Muslim travel to the U.S.

“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,” read a press release from the Trump campaign, as quoted by CNN.

As CNN noted at the time, Trump had also called for surveillance of mosques and offered somewhat confusing responses when asked about whether the U.S. should keep a database of Muslims.

In a November 2015 “This Week” interview with George Stephanopoulos, however, Trump made his views on the database issue a bit clearer, according to Politifact. While he didn’t rule out a database for all Muslims, he backed keeping one for refugees coming into the U.S.

“I want a database for the refugees that — if they come into the country. We have no idea who these people are,” he said. “When the Syrian refugees are going to start pouring into this country, we don’t know if they’re ISIS, we don’t know if it’s a Trojan horse. And I definitely want a database and other checks and balances.”

As for the proposed Muslim ban that has attracted so much scrutiny in recent months, Trump has since changed his language on the issue and is now saying that, rather than a temporary ban, he favors “extreme vetting” of people coming from nations with a history of terror, according to NBC News.

It’s with these events in mind that some Muslim Americans have exercised caution, fearing what might happen under a Trump administration.

“I was thinking quite a long time to register but this time especially,” a Muslim man named Sadat Najmi told Reuters. “I really believed that I have to.”

In addition to the voter initiative, the U.S. Council of Muslim Organizations held an advocacy day in April aimed at connecting Islamic adherents with members of Congress.

These efforts are part of the organization’s “One America Campaign,” an effort that aims to “‘push back’ against what has become a consistent effort to balkanize U.S. citizens into mutually antagonistic subgroups.”

The campaign seeks to unite Americans of all stripes, while dismissing the “scapegoating” that the organization sees unfolding against American Muslims.

Earlier this summer, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim civil rights group, put out a statement asserting that “more than 300,000 Muslims may have registered to vote since the 2012 presidential election.”

CAIR based this estimate on a national database of voter information that was purchased and analyzed by the group in June 2016 and compared to a similar list that was purchased by the group in 2012.

The organization cited “rhetorical attacks” on the Muslim faith by public figures as one possible reason for the apparent increase in voter registration.

“Knowing that more than 300,000 American Muslims have registered to vote since the last presidential election is a validation of the national and local Muslim community efforts to get out the vote,” said Robert S. McCaw, the group’s government affairs director, in a statement.

CAIR also launched a nonpartisan voter campaign titled “Muslims Vote” this summer in an effort to get American Muslims to engage in the 2016 election by encouraging them to host candidate forums, volunteer or register to vote.

The Trump campaign seemingly attempted to temper concerns on Monday night, with the candidate’s wife, Melania Trump, saying her husband intends to represent “all the people” if elected president.

“Donald intends to represent all the people, not just some of the people,” Melania Trump said. “That includes Christians and Jews and Muslims. It includes Hispanics and African-Americans and Asians — and the poor and the middle-class.”

This isn’t to say that Trump has no Muslim supporters, since Sajid Tarar, founder of the group American Muslims for Trump, delivered a benediction Tuesday at the Republican National Convention.