In a replay of 2000 US election, most of the 3.5 million Muslim voters apparently voted for Donald Trump in Tuesday's election. Trump, in his Tuesday night's acceptance speech, acknowledged the role of Arab and Muslim voters when he said: Voters came from all corners: African American, Hispanic American, Asian American, Arab American and Muslim American.
Last month the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the largest Muslim advocacy group in the US, had said that the 2024 US presidential election between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump could be determined by the vote from America's Muslim population.
"We estimate there are about three and a half million registered Muslim voters nationwide. We do believe that those Muslim voters who reside in the swing states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin will have a major role in determining the election," said Hussam Ayloush, CEO of the California chapter of CAIR.
In 2000 election, American Muslim Coordination Committee had endorsed Texas Governor George Bush for presidency, however in 2024 election Muslim civil advocacy organizations had not endorsed any presidential candidate.
However, there were indications that American Muslims were frustrated with Biden administration's all out support of Israel for its genocide of Palestinians in Gaza. [1]
Take the case of Michigan which has more than 200,000 Muslim voters, along with 300,000 with Middle Eastern or North African ancestry. Biden won there in 2020 while Trump defeated Kamala Harris on Tuesday.
Tellingly, in the Michigan town of Dearborn, the largest majority Arab-American city in U.S., Trump defeated Harris while in 2020 election Biden had won this town.
Trump courted Muslim voters during his election campaign. He visited a halal cafe' in Dearborn last month, meeting with Arab Americans and vowing to bring peace of the Middle East.
On billboards lining Michigan highways and during visits, the Trump campaign argued that he stands "for peace" in the Middle East, while casting Harris as pro-Israel.
CAIR Calls on Democrats to Learn Lessons from Harris' Defeat
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) Wednesday called on Democratic elected officials to learn lessons from Vice President Harris' loss of support among Muslims to the Gaza genocide and urged President-Elect Trump to prioritize fulfilling his campaign pledge to pursue peace abroad, including an end to Israel's war on Gaza.
In a statement, CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad said:
"We commend American Muslim voters for making their voices heard in races across the country, and up and down the ballot, in the 2024 election.
"It is important for Democratic and other elected officials to recognize that Vice President Harris' steep drop in support in key states compared to President Biden's 2020 victory resulted, in part, from the deep frustration and disillusionment that many young, Muslim, Arab, black, and other voters feel with the Biden-Harris administration due to its steadfast financial and military support for Israel's ongoing genocide in Gaza.
"The vice president's failure to lay out any plan to end that genocide, such as suspending weapons to Israel, combined with her refusal to let any Palestinian-American speak at the DNC and her embrace of the war criminal enthusiast Liz Cheney, made matters worse.
"During the presidential campaign, President-Elect Trump made efforts to connect with Muslim voters in swing states, pledged to end bloodshed in the Gaza, and condemned the Bush/Cheney-era policies that wreaked havoc in the Muslim world.
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