Vanguard News Desk Editor
WASHINGTON, DC – The nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization urged Democratic elected officials Wednesday—the day after Donald Trump’s sweeping victory in the Presidential election—to “learn lessons from Vice President Harris’ loss of support among Muslims and other voters opposed to the Gaza genocide.”
At the same time, the Council on American-Islamic Relations commended, in a prepared statement, “American Muslims for turning out to vote in yesterday’s election despite deep frustration and disillusionment with both major parties due to the genocide in Gaza.”
CAIR also said it was encouraging President-elect Trump to “prioritize fulfilling his campaign pledge to pursue peace abroad, including an end to Israel’s war on Gaza,” and promised to “work with partners and allies in the coming months and years to once again oppose the pursuit of any unjust or harmful domestic or foreign policies by the new administration.
CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad said Democrats should “recognize Vice President Harris’ steep drop in support in key states compared to President Biden’s 2020 victory” was in response to “deep frustration and disillusionment” from young, Muslim, Arab, Black, and other voters” upset with the current administration’s “steadfast financial and military support for Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza.”
“The vice president’s failure to lay out any plan to end that genocide, such as suspending weapons to Israel, combined with her refusal to let any Palestinian-American speak at the DNC and her embrace of the war criminal enthusiast Liz Cheney, made matters worse,” Awad added.
CAIR’s executive director chastised the Harris campaign for not “listening to the clear majority of Americans who support both a ceasefire and a suspension of weapons to Israel” (and) “only struck a slightly more sympathetic tone toward Palestinians while sticking with the substance of President Biden’s disastrous stance.”
Awad said the Harris error “led to an unprecedented shift of support from Muslim, Arab, and other communities who traditionally vote for Democratic presidents.”
Awad added, “No politician or party has ownership of the Muslim vote. Going forward, we expect all elected officials to genuinely address the urgent concerns of Muslim voters. This includes President-elect Trump.
“During the presidential campaign, President-elect Trump made efforts to connect with Muslim voters in swing states, pledged to end bloodshed in the Gaza, and condemned the Bush/Cheney-era policies that wreaked havoc in the Muslim world.”
The CAIR ED said, “American Muslims must mobilize in partnership with communities across America to oppose any attempt to harm vulnerable communities, such as launching a mass deportation of all undocumented families, reinstating the Muslim Ban, or weaponizing the Justice Department against activists, including college students speaking out against the Gaza genocide.”
After the tough talk, Aswad concluded, “In the face of new challenges and opportunities, we look forward to continuing to work toward a more just nation for the benefit of everyone in America and for people around the world impacted by American policy.”
CAIR said it will prioritize “challenging discriminatory immigration policies,” including travel bans, and “attempts to punish student activists supporting Palestinian rights; opposing surveillance and profiling; safeguarding advocacy rights for nonprofits; advocating for international human rights; establishing interest-free student loans; and countering racism in policing.”
