Salaam,
The 2024 Presidential election represents an especially difficult moment for Muslim Americans. Over the last eleven months, we have witnessed over forty thousand Palestinians killed and a population of two million made destitute as a result of Israel’s war on Gaza. The crisis, as experts have warned, is on the verge of spiraling out of control to a broader regional war, and the reputational damage to the United States has been profound. Just this week, Israel has killed hundreds of civilians in Lebanon and injured thousands more. As we grieve with heavy hearts for our brothers and sisters killed in Lebanon, we repeat our demands to the Biden administration to immediately deescalate the situation and call for a permanent ceasefire.
Our strong disagreement with President Biden over the crisis in the Middle East is well known. We ultimately hold him responsible for continuing to supply deadly weapons to Israel that have killed tens of thousands of people, including over 15,000 children. We need new leadership to call for a ceasefire and condition aid to Israel consistent with the Leahy Law to prevent even more horrific attacks.
In November, we have the opportunity to change course and turn our outrage into action.
We are pledging to do all that we can to ensure that the next administration listens to our communities and takes our calls for peace, justice and safety seriously. We know that will not be Donald Trump. We have always been clear-eyed about the danger Trump’s brand of authoritarianism represents for Muslim Americans, America, and the world. This is why in 2020 we embarked on a historic campaign to make sure that Muslim Americans played a decisive role in ensuring that Donald Trump was a one-term president.
To prevent Trump from returning to the White House, Emgage Action is endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris and Governor Tim Walz for President and Vice President. This endorsement is not an agreement with Vice President Harris on all issues, but rather, an honest guidance to our voters regarding the difficult choice they confront at the ballot box.
Polling indicates that Palestine is top of mind for Muslim Americans across the country. Our Palestinian and Lebanese siblings are top of mind for us too. Since the beginning of the war, Emgage Action has advocated for a ceasefire through principled engagement with political leaders at every level of government. We are committed not only to seeking an end to the current onslaught and to the illegal occupation of Palestinian territories by Israel, but also to the culmination of a free Palestinian state. Our team at Emgage Action has been working tirelessly for close to a year, advocating at all levels of government for a ceasefire and addressing the domestic impact of the crisis here where our national fabric has been torn and Muslim and Arab American communities have become targets of discrimination and violent attacks. Learn more about our advocacy efforts here.
Emgage Action is committed to increasing the civic engagement of Muslim Americans in support of principled policies that protect our pluralistic democracy. We view engagement through an Islamic lens in which every life matters, social and economic justice are upheld, and God’s creation is preserved through sound climate policies. We believe that the Harris-Walz ticket provides the better path to advance these values through expanding access to healthcare and education, creating economic opportunities for underserved communities, and preserving programs like Social Security and Medicare, which provide a safety net to millions in need.
We also believe we have a responsibility to defeat Trump, but that belief is not an acquiescence to the status quo. On the contrary, we believe the most effective way to advance our anti-war goals is to block Trump’s fascism and push for the change we want to see. This means that Muslim Americans must turn out in record numbers and not only defeat Trump but refrain from supporting third-party candidates who make a Trump victory more likely. This is especially true in battleground states where the elections will be decided by a small number of votes.
We understand that some Muslim voters feel a moral dilemma in voting for either major party and seek to support third-party candidates who have aligned themselves with our community on the crisis in Palestine. However, a vote for a third-party candidate is the road to victory for Trump. Therefore, we ask Muslim voters to consider the human impact of a second Trump presidency.
In 2016, Trump won Michigan by merely 11,000 votes, Wisconsin by 23,000, and Pennsylvania by 44,000, mainly because of votes cast for third-party candidates. These wins enabled Trump to harm our communities and country in insurmountable ways. Let’s not forget who Trump is – he is funded by pro-settler donors who are pushing for Israeli annexation of the West Bank, he vowed to give Netanyahu what he needs to “finish” the Palestinians, and he has promised to deport pro-Palestinian students and activists who he refers to as “jihadists”. And that’s not all. If elected, Trump has promised to reinstate the Muslim Ban and use Title 42 to turn away asylum seekers from predominantly Black and Muslim countries that he calls “infested” countries.
Simply put, voting for a third-party candidate could bring even more harm to Muslim communities in America and abroad. This is a decision that we cannot afford to make.
This election will define the future of our country and the state of Muslim Americans for years to come. It is up to us to vote for the future we want.
To learn more about Emgage Action’s endorsement and policy priorities, visit emgageaction.org.
