Support for Kamala Harris among Muslim voters is unclear, but every vote counts in swing states like Wisconsin.
Milwaukee – There are around 40,000 Muslim voters in Wisconsin. In a state where the last election in 2020 was decided by just 20,000 votes, every vote counts.
One of the voters is Abdulhamid Ali. Like many others, he is unsure who to vote for in the upcoming US election on November 5. In the last US election, he supported the Democrats and thus voted against Donald Trumphe told the news magazine Newsweek.
Ali, who has participated in every possible US election since emigrating from Somalia in 1980, criticized Kamala Harris to meet the demands of Muslim Americans for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza Strip and the West Bank and an embargo on American weapons against Israel.
US election: Harris calls for concrete plan for peace in the Middle East
It is not the domestic political problems that concern Ali first and foremost. According to Newsweek His main concern is that Israel’s war against the Hamas in Gaza will be ended. “I have certain doubts,” the 65-year-old told Newsweek. Authorities say 41,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7 last year, killing around 1,200 Israelis and abducting 250 others.
He wants to see a “concrete plan” from Harris. “I want her to say, ‘I will create a free and democratic Palestinian state, and these are the steps we will take.'” If he does not see this plan, Ali will abstain from the presidential election and only vote in state and local elections.
According to the CAIR Election Poll 2024 Harris is trailing Green Party candidate Jill Stein among Muslim voters in Wisconsin, who has repeatedly pledged to end what she calls a “genocidal war” in Gaza. Stein is at 44 percent, Harris at 39 percent, and Trump is at just 8 percent. Nationally, support for Stein and Harris among Muslim voters is almost identical, at around 29 percent each.
Wisconsin: Harris as alternative to Trump in US election
Other Muslims in Wisconsin favor Harris, at least as an alternative to Trump. Masood Akhtar, a Madison entrepreneur and activist, founded the group “We Are Many – United Against Hate” in 2016 after Trump hinted that he wanted to introduce a Muslim registry.
“Step one: Save democracy first – that means defeating Donald Trump,” the Indian-American activist told Newsweek“Step two: After the election, sit at the table with the decision-makers in the White House so that we are not left out, especially with regard to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”
If Harris defeats Trump, Akhtar hopes to go to the White House with a delegation of Muslim and Jewish voters to develop a peace strategy for the Middle East. (jala)
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