Get out your vote. This is the crucial message American Muslims are receiving on their phones and in their emails from Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR). As America’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organisation, CAIR has intensified efforts to engage the American Muslim voter in what is being termed “the most important election for the Muslim American community.”
The message gains credence with Republican nominee Donald Trump’s poll numbers looking up following the recent FBI directive saying it would reopen investigations into Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton’s email scandal. These developments have made American Muslims very nervous. In an unprecedented and striking move, CAIR has sent out calls to members of the American Muslim community reminding them to register and get out the vote. If the words “Do not vote Trump” are missing, it is because that would be stating the obvious.
As election day nears, the battle lines between Trump and American Muslims have been drawn clearly.
Trump hopes to ride the wave of Islamophobia to an election victory. Clinton on the other hand, in a first of its kind Presidential campaign move, has appointed outreach coordinators to woo the Muslim vote-bank the Democrats estimate will play a key role in the swing states.
“We account for only 1% of the total US population,” says political science student and American Muslim activist Zainab Al-Abedany. “Which is why we are pressing Muslim voters for a high turnout in swing states with sizeable Muslim representation like Florida, Ohio, Michigan, and Virginia.” The American Muslims know this is a battle they cannot afford to sit out. CAIR, for its part, has initiated Robocalls, email outreach, website launch and other focused attempts at Muslim voter empowerment.
A recent CAIR poll estimates that over 72 per cent of American Muslims plan to vote for Clinton. Trump’s anti-Islamic rhetoric has hit home, with Islamophobia and hate crimes rising at rates not seen since the immediate aftermath of 9/11. So, it’s message to American Muslims is simple: Get out your vote.
Farwa Imam Ali is a journalist, columnist and Digital Media story teller based in the US.