Michigan Muslim voters say they feel misunderstood by Republicans and Democrats

There are nearly four million Muslims in the United States, including about 240,000 in Michigan. In the 2020 presidential election, American Muslims were a big part of why Joe Biden won Michigan by just 155,000 votes.

This year some say they feel politically homeless, not understood or welcomed by either Republicans or Democrats.

Hamza Ashfaq, a recent medical school graduate, says this presidential campaign has been challenging because neither candidate fully reflects his values or political priorities.

“Everybody’s going to play the lesser of the two evils vote. In the end, it’s, you know, not going to be good for us either way,” Ashfaq said.

Michigan was at the epicenter of the uncommitted national movement that protested President Biden during the Democratic primaries.

This idea that neither party reflects their moral values came up again and again in interviews with Muslims in Detroit.

Palestinian American Mahmoud Muheisen, 24, is a recent graduate of Wayne State University.

He has never voted in a U.S. election before — but feels obligated to vote this year.

“The people, they share my faith. They share my name. They share my blood. I think it would be inhumane to just dismiss it, especially as a Palestinian Muslim American,” he said.

Muheisen says he plans to vote for the Green Party’s candidate, Jill Stein.

Youssef Chouhoud is an associate professor of political science at Christopher Newport University who studies voting trends of American Muslims. He says Gaza is at the top of mind for many American Muslims.

“American Muslims care about the economy. American Muslims care about climate change, and they care about health care access and immigration policy. But certainly, one of, if not the top, if not — for some American Muslims, the only issue that they care about is the crisis in Gaza,” he said.

Chouhoud says this sense of political homelessness weighs heavily on American Muslims, “and something that is going to probably continue from now until they go into the voting booth.”

Farah Khan is the co-chair of Michigan’s Abandon Harris campaign.

The campaign is trying to encourage Muslims in Michigan to vote for a third-party candidate.

“Do not vote for these two despicable candidates who are running for presidency,” Khan said. “I don’t know what kind of world we live in now because these are the people we have to look up to for our leaders. It’s really sad.”

According to a national survey conducted for the Council on American Islamic Relations, about 30% of American Muslims nationwide support Kamala Harris. Another 30% back Stein. Eleven percent said they plan to vote for Donald Trump, and nearly 17% said they are still undecided.

Imam Mikail Stewart-Saadiq is former chair of the Imams Council of Michigan. He taught at the Al-Ikhlas Training Academy for 20 years.

The registered Democrat says he’s willing to give Harris a chance.

“She is not Trump, nor is she Biden. So in my opinion, you know, I would like to see what she can do,” he said.

Stewart-Saadiq says this is a moment to move forward and build on the political work of previous generations.

“And having to fight your way through politics and fight your way through political revolution, you know, of all those games, I’m not willing to spit in the face of my ancestors,” he said.

Detroit voter Munira Salim says she’s still undecided on who to vote for in the weeks before the election.

“When it comes to the pro-peace vote, when it comes to the Muslim vote and even when it comes to the Black vote, like, there’s no one representation,” she said.

Like Salim, many Muslims are waiting to see if there are any changes in the Biden-Harris administration’s Gaza policy before they cast their votes in November.