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The weight of the vote of the Muslim community in the presidential elections in the USA

2024-09-24 19:51:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

The weight of the vote of the Muslim community in the presidential elections in

Muslims make up less than 2 percent of the population in the United States. But, as Voice of America correspondent Kane Farabaugh reports, the influence of this community in the American elections is growing, mainly due to concerns about the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

In Bridgeview, a town on the outskirts of Illinois also known as "Little Palestine", there is the "Qahwah" cafeteria, whose customers are mainly Palestinian-Americans of that area.

"Everywhere you go in this area you see Muslims," ??says voter Deanna Othman.

She is a teacher at a local Muslim school and a regular customer of the 'Qahwah' cafe. The most important issue for him in this election year is the end of the war between Israel and Hamas, the terrorist group declared by the United States.

The war began after Hamas attacked Israel last year. Militants of the Islamic group killed 1,200 people and took 250 hostages. Israel's counteroffensive killed more than 41,000 Palestinians, a number Israel says includes thousands of militants.

"To win my vote, I need to see a commitment to end the genocide immediately," said voter Othman. Other voters in Bridgeview Township, Illinois, which includes the city of Chicago and Bridgeview Township, share the same concern. , has the largest Palestinian community in the country. About 475 thousand American Muslims live in Illinois, about 3.7 percent of the total population in this state.

"They make up a significant minority in Illinois and tend to vote for Democrats," says analyst Tabitha Bonilla.

She is a professor of social policy at Northwestern University.

"The chances that there will be a reversal of the result in Illinois are small, but in states like Michigan, the number of Muslim voters is estimated to be around 200,000. The gap between Republicans and Democrats in the last election was 150 thousand votes. If 200,000 Muslim voters decide not to vote or vote for Democrats, that would have an impact on undecided states like Michigan," says Ms. Bonilla.

"These people in Michigan know the impact of American-funded bombs," says Layla Elabed, a Palestinian-American community activist.

Ms. Elabed is the sister of Palestinian-American legislator from Michigan, Rashida Tlaib.Layla Elabed, Palestinian-American Activist

"We want to change the orientation of the current policy towards a policy that will save the Palestinians and end their occupation," says activist Elabed.

"The Muslim community not only in Michigan, but in almost every state is more active, more engaged than ever before," said Keith Ellison, Minnesota Attorney General.

Mr. Ellison is one of the first Muslim-American lawmakers in Congress.

"The Muslim-American community has more power than ever, and its voice is being heard," he says.

Voter Deanna Othman says she would like more options in the election.

"I get the impression that most people in this area don't want to vote for Democrats or Republicans," she says.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations estimates that over 2.2 million American Muslims are registered to vote in the United States this election year. This, according to the organization, marks an increase of over one million compared to the previous two years' congressional elections that coincide with the middle of the president's term./ Voa