By Halil İbrahim Ciger
ISTANBUL (AA) - The run-up to the US presidential election in November is charged with an atmosphere of unprecedented tension, driven primarily by two key issues: the economy and the ongoing crisis in Gaza.
As Americans grapple with economic hardships and inflation, their frustration is compounded by their government's role in supporting Israel's actions in the Palestinian enclave, which many view as genocidal.
Last week, at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois, prominent independent Senator Bernie Sanders, who opposes pro-Israel policies, received a standing ovation when he called for a lasting cease-fire in Gaza.
The moment underscored the deepening discontent among voters, who plan to make their voices heard at the ballot box this November.
According to the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding's April report, titled "Winning Muslim Votes: A Policy Priority Analysis in Swing States," 78% of Democrats in the US support a permanent cease-fire in Gaza.
Among Muslim voters, 89% of Democrats, 72% of Republicans, and 91% in swing states say a permanent Gaza cease-fire would increase their likelihood of supporting any 2024 candidate.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll from April this year showed that 77% of Americans believe the Joe Biden administration’s economic and inflation policies are on the wrong track, while 55% disapprove of its foreign policies.
The Republican Party has confirmed former President Donald Trump as their candidate, while the Democrats have officially nominated Vice President Kamala Harris.
But both candidates’ pro-Israel stances have alienated many Muslim Americans and those sympathetic to the Palestinian cause, leading to a growing number of voters who are undecided or support third-party candidates.
Muslim-American groups, alongside other undecided voters, have taken an active role in the election discourse.
For four days during the Democratic Convention, these groups staged protests around the convention center, demanding a permanent cease-fire in Gaza and an arms embargo against Israel.
Prominent figures such as Minnesota and Georgia representatives Ilhan Omar and Ruwa Romman participated in the protests, expressing their support for the just cause.
However, Romman’s request to speak at the convention was denied, further inflaming tensions and raising the question of whether the organizers considered the life of an Israeli more valuable than that of a Palestinian.
- Pro-Palestine movements
Muslim Americans, who are organizing in many states with the Uncommitted National Movement and the AbandonBiden movement, aim to show Gaza's influence at the ballot box.
“We have a strategy, and the strategy is to punish the (candidates for) president or the vice president (at the ballot box) and then take the blame for it, or the credit as a means to gain power, (showing) that you should never have ignored us. That would then create an awakening, a reckoning in the Democratic Party and a reorientation of the Republicans because both of these parties are in charge and govern this nation,” Hassan Abdel Salam, a co-founder of the AbandonBiden movement and a sociology professor at the University of Minnesota, told Anadolu.
Abdel Salam also indicated a shift from the AbandonBiden to the AbandonHarris movement after Harris’ nomination, saying that supporting her means being complicit in genocide.
Omar Suleiman, president of the Dallas-based Yaqeen Institute for Islamic Research and a prominent figure in the US Muslim community, emphasized that Muslims prioritizing Gaza are disillusioned with the main presidential candidates and are turning to third-party options.
“But if you look at Jill Stein and Cornel West, both of them have Muslim vice presidents running with them. Both of them are running almost as a referendum on Palestine, explicitly condemning the genocide and calling for accountability for Israel,” he added.
Robert McCaw, government affairs director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation's largest Muslim civil rights organization, told Anadolu that "in polling, we've seen Muslims support more third-party candidates this election season than any before," stating that there are over 700,000 voters across the country, including Muslim voters, who support the third party.
American Muslims aim to use every tool at their disposal to influence the elections and push for a change in US policy on Gaza. The Muslim population in swing states is expected to play a crucial role.
For example, a CAIR poll in Michigan revealed that 94% of Muslim voters cast “undecided” votes in the primaries.
Abdel Salam also commented on the critical impact of swing states, saying: "America is not a democracy in the sense that you just get a majority of all the people in the country, in the nation, and then you become president.”
Emphasizing that there are five to nine swing states, he said: “If you win those critical swing states, then you become president. And we have found, and this was the theory I was working with since October of 2023, that there are sufficient Muslim populations in these states – Wisconsin, Arizona, Michigan, Georgia, and Minnesota – and in those very states, we can actually determine who will win again.”
Speaking to Anadolu, Abdul Basith Basheer, a doctoral student at the University of North Carolina, said that Muslim voters in these states might cast “undecided” votes or support third-party candidates.
“Many people do feel that both parties – the Democratic Party and the Republican Party – and both candidates do not really represent our interests anymore,” he said.
- American Muslims in polls
Following the US government’s ignoring of an application by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and allowing him to address Congress, American Muslims have decided to express their frustration at the polls.
“It's one of the most outrageous displays in American history that perhaps one of the greatest autocrats in human history would come before Congress which is meant to be respectable,” Salam said.
“So, we feel abandoned by Biden and very, very sure and certain that we're on the path of righteousness,” he added.
Suleiman criticized the influence of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), saying it manipulates Congress and fuels anger.
He accused the US government of financing genocide with taxpayer money while facing domestic poverty and called for Americans to confront this absurdity.
"We do not want genocidal leaders speaking before lawmakers. We don't endorse this DC's political establishment,” CAIR’s McCaw said.
According to Anadolu’s research, various US representatives and senators who applauded Netanyahu during his speech have received substantial donations from AIPAC.
For instance, Rep. Steny Hoyer received $1,736,244, Sen. Raphael Warnock received $929,776 and Sen. Cory Booker received $913,081.
Last week’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago saw significant protests against the US government's Gaza policy, with Palestinian advocates addressing crowds and a pro-Palestine banner being removed forcefully.
These actions, including the arrest of Anadolu reporter Mustafa Bassam, reflect growing public pressure on US candidates to address Gaza with clear stances on arms embargoes and a permanent cease-fire.