D-8 before the US presidential elections. Head to head in the polls, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are looking for the smallest vote that will allow them to access the White House.
Since October 7 and the Hamas attack on Israel, the Muslim community has visibly moved away from its traditional democratic vote. Uncertainty and an important reserve of thousands of votes for both sides, which could be crucial to ensuring a victory on November 5. Which places the issue of war in the Middle East at the center of the political debate on the other side of the Atlantic.
In Dearborn, Michigan, a predominantly Muslim city, the issue of the US presidential election is on everyone’s lips. “Right now the most important issue is Gaza and Israel’s war in Lebanon. And Donald Trump and Kamala [Harris] “We support both, so we won’t vote for them,” says Mohamed Alemara, a medical student born in the United States to Iraqi immigrant parents.
“Like many Arab Americans,” he explains, “he feels betrayed by the Democratic Party”: “it’s like they’ve stabbed us in the back by not wanting to listen to our demands, by not stopping the massacre of our families in Gaza and Lebanon.”
For a year now, a large part of the Muslim community has wanted, like Mohamed Alemara, to sanction the Democratic Party for its military support for Israel. “I don’t tell people who to vote for, but I personally believe that no candidate will help us,” Imam Hassan Qazwini, founder of the Islamic Institute of America, told BFMTV.
“[Kamala] Unfortunately, Harris took Muslims for granted, but he was wrong,” he adds.
“October 7th changed everything”
Historically, most of the American Muslim community voted Democratic. But last year’s attacks changed many paradigms. “October 7th changed everything,” summarizes Dominique Cadinot, professor at the University of Aix-Marseille and specialist in the Arab community in the United States.
In an increasingly tense international context, American Muslims criticize Joe Biden for his lack of firmness with Benjamin Netanyahu and his inaction in the face of the death of thousands of civilians in Gaza under Israeli attacks.
“The Muslim community called on Joe Biden to be tougher on Israel. Faced with this inaction, with this lack of change in Joe Biden’s policies, some Muslims and Arabs were able to tell themselves that they would not vote for Democrats. camp,” explains Dominique Cadinot.
A divorce until the American Congress
Around these presidential elections, indecision is reaching the highest levels of the state. In the United States Congress, Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib, two Muslim women, were elected in 2018 in Minnesota and Michigan, respectively. A great novelty in the history of parliament and two important supports for the democratic field.
But neither one nor the other has so far committed to Kamala Harris, which is “very surprising,” according to Dominique Cadinot, a specialist in the Muslim and Arab-American communities. “Even parliamentarians are divided,” although Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib “were always united,” he recalls.
A volatile election
For the two candidates for the White House, the Muslim electorate, far from being homogeneous, represents a decisive reserve of votes. A victory, especially in the key state of Michigan, can be decided by a few tens of thousands of votes: only about 10,000 fell short of Hillary Clinton in 2016 to win this election. oscillation state and his 16 voters.
Dominique Cadinot recalls that there are approximately “250,000 Muslims in the state of Michigan alone – that’s why Donald Trump and Kamala Harris are there right now – which could make the difference if a candidate convinces these volatile voters.”
So, to attract the Muslim electorate, the two candidates are groping. “Kamala Harris’s technique is to remain discreet and promise a different policy from Joe Biden’s, without commenting on what his foreign policy will be,” explains the academic. The Democratic candidate, who spoke out in favor of a ceasefire in Gaza, is criticized for not clearly opposing military aid to Israel and, therefore, breaking with Joe Biden’s policy.
“Donald Trump makes promises, and always has,” adds Dominique Cadinot.
Donald Trump promises peace and capitalizes on the anger of the Arab community against the war in Gaza, which earned him the support of certain Muslim leaders, who joined him on stage during his October 26 meeting in Michigan. “It promises peace,” said Imam Belal Alzuhairi, in a sequence shared massively on social networks.
However, it is necessary to remember that the Muslim community in the United States is not uniform and that these famous Muslim leaders who support Donald Trump are representatives of the Shiite movement, that is, “10 to 15% of Muslims in the United States.” “, and “they are a minority in the community, very conservative,” remembers Dominique Cadinot.
Neither Harris nor Trump
If they do not vote for either Kamala Harris or Donald Trump, the Muslim community could ultimately abstain or vote for another candidate, such as Democratic environmentalist Jill Stein, who took a stand against what she calls “genocide” in Gaza. This is also what Mohamed Alemara intends to do.
“There are between 300,000 and 400,000 Arabs in Michigan, so they need our vote. I don’t think [Joe] Biden could have won in 2020 without us. “This year, if we all stay home, I think Trump will win,” the student said.
Will Donald Trump and Kamala Harris succeed in attracting Muslim voters to their cause? Nothing is less certain. For them, these presidential elections would be more like “a choice between plague and cholera”, emphasizes Dominique Cadinot, when the Arab community seems to ultimately want to “support a candidate who works for their integration”, especially economically. .
Source: BFM TV