Waiting for the Impact of Muslim Voices in the US Presidential Election
Muslims are concentrated in an important state that is often a battleground for the US presidential election.
Fatima Salman (43 years), an American Muslim woman from Detroit, Michigan, admitted that she would vote for the Democratic candidate, Joe Biden. In the US Presidential Election next November, Biden will challenge Republican aspiring candidate Donald Trump.
Donald Trump expressed his views during the inaugural debate in the series of the United States presidential election that was watched by Joe Biden, Tuesday (29/9) at Case Western University and Cleveland Clinic, in Cleveland, Ohio, USA - (AP / Morry Gash / AP Pool)
"I have three children and worry about their future if Trump wins," said Salman. Aljazirah wrote that with the initial voting already underway nationwide, there is evidence that the votes of Salman and other Muslim Americans will be an important factor in determining the winner of the US presidential election on November 3.
There are an estimated 3.45 million Muslims in the US - which is only 1 percent of the country's total population. However, they are concentrated in important states that often become battlefields in the presidential election. For example Michigan, Florida, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania. This scheme makes their sound influence a significant echo.
Mohamed Gula, managing director of Engage, a US Muslim advocacy group, said the main problems for American Muslims are the same as those of most Americans. They have to deal with health care, education, and criminal justice reform. "Obviously we will hear about the issue of foreign policy being carried out," he said.
Survey agencies reported that in the 1990s, Muslim voters were almost evenly divided in support of the Democratic and Republican parties. The gap began to widen after the events of September 11. At that time, the George W Bush administration and the Republican Party were considered more hostile to Islam.
At that time, the George W Bush administration and the Republican Party were considered more hostile to Islam.
Shortly after taking office in 2017, Trump passed legislation to bar citizens of several Muslim-majority countries from entering the US. This policy fulfilled his campaign promise and sent shock waves throughout the Muslim community in the US and abroad.
Trump has persecuted Muslims in a series of comments and tweets disparaging the term radical "Islamic terrorism". He also called the countries on the Muslim ban list "dangerous".
No wonder Biden wants to capitalize on this sentiment. "The Muslim vote is part of our strategy to win," said Farooq Mitha, Biden's senior campaign adviser for Muslim American engagement.
Biden, he said, had put out an agenda for the American Muslim community that pledged to lift the travel ban on Muslims on day one.
Reported in the Washington Post, Tuesday (20/10), Biden committed to convince the American parliament to make authoritative laws against Muslims. He also promised to order the United States Department of Justice to focus additional resources on fighting racial and religious crime.
On another occasion as reported on the Hill, Biden also promised to sign a hate crime law and appoint his Muslim staff. In fact, Biden had quoted the Prophet's hadith in his speech about fighting evil.
A foreign policy observer from Padjadjaran University, Teuku Rezasyah, said that the issue of Islam in the midst of US election contestation is very interesting to look into further. According to him, the public needs to know about the political map of America and its relation to Muslims there. For example about how the Muslim voice is divided and not one voice.
The public needs to know about the political map of America and its relation to Muslims there.
Among educated Muslims, they are quite fascinated by the political promises of Biden who are committed to fighting for the aspirations of Muslims. The emergence of Biden with Islamic statements could make Muslims turn to vote for him, although not entirely. "There will be a very large swing voter from Muslim circles to Biden," said Teuku.
On the other hand, he observed, Biden's statement about Islam was also narrated by quoting things from moderate Islamic teachings. The narrative rahmatan lil-alamin, for example, was brought out by Biden brilliantly when quoting a hadith about fighting munkar.
He explained, Biden is a typical person who is careful and thinks long before speaking. Meanwhile, Trump is typically the opposite. According to him, this at least shows that in team capacity, Biden has a more capable team. "Because what (Biden) quoted was a very moderate hadith," he said.
On the other hand, he also underlined, let alone reciting a long hadith, calling the sentence "assalamualaikum" alone is taboo for public figures in America. Biden's new move is considered representative enough to attract Muslim votes significantly.
A foreign observer from LIPI, Siswanto, thinks that Muslim voters will switch significantly to support Biden. He considered that the Islamic narrative brought by Biden was quite authoritative for Muslims who were often disadvantaged during Trump's leadership. "Trump is very discriminating against Muslims and reckless, so it would be completely absurd if Muslims in the US re-elect him to be president," he said.
However, he also underlined that although Islam in America is quite divided, American culture is different from other countries. The independent attitude of US citizens in elections makes them not necessarily follow the views of a figure in a community.
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