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Election Day has passed without a clear victor at the top of the ticket. Over the course of the day, and perhaps into the next few days, we expect to be hit with an array of conflicting reports over what happened and what is to come. Rest assured, however, this delay is the result of something for which we should be immensely proud: during an era of pandemic, protest, and political turmoil, we drove out record levels of voter turnout.
Throughout this cycle, we rallied our neighbors, our congregation members, our co-workers, and ourselves to make it to the polls and vote. We made our voices heard and, in so doing, we put our elected officials on notice: we will hold them accountable moving forward. As we await for the final vote totals to be tallied, we should take a moment to appreciate this feat at the end of a long, tough year. This year, we made it clear that politicians do not decide elections; people do.
Once a victor emerges between President Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden, the real work begins. In our “Tale of Two Futures” paper, we predicted this fork-in-the-road moment. Over these next four years, we must choose between passive or active participation in the political process that is to come. If we choose active participation, we can maximize the strength of our American Muslim community -- the one percent, whose commitment to faith can be a shining example for the 99 percent.
What does active participation look like?
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Bridging the gaps constructed by artificial differences. Our Mustard Seed project attempts to do just that, by pointing out the fundamental oneness at the heart of our shared humanity.
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Uniting the community and allies around our shared vision: an America for all. Our Tale of Two Futures project tries to identify the opportunities for coalition-building which exist in our shared interests. Our recently launched American Muslim Elected and Appointed Officials Network (AMEAON) will connect the past, present, and future generation of American Muslim leadership in order to build power throughout the public and private sectors.
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Building power based on these shared values. “Tale of Two Futures” also analyzes parties in order to determine just how we should prioritize our political actions. Case in point: our Campaign for Human Security, which tries to unite civil society groups and elected officials around a people-centered approach to national security. In the years to come, our collective actions must reflect the urgent need to build power within the community and among our allies. Our flagship Congressional Leadership Development Program (CLDP) will continue to develop the future generations of Muslim leaders by placing them in positions of influence throughout all branches of the government.
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