Imam Mikail Stewart Saadiq | Courtesy photo
With the yearlong war in Gaza — and the U.S. response — putting the Muslim-American community on edge, a group of more than two dozen imams have penned a letter saying it is “imperative” they elect leaders who have “committed to a ceasefire, an independent Palestine, stabilizing our democracy and who stand with our community.”
Thay leader, they say, is Vice President Kamala Harris.
Among the 25 Islamic religious leaders endorsing Harris, the Democratic nominee, in her race against former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, is Imam Mikail Stewart Saadiq of Detroit.
“We felt that this needed to be said and published widely because this is more consistent with our faith,” said Saadiq in an interview this week with the Michigan Advance. “Of course, other faith leaders, they have their opinions. There was another letter that went out that was encouraging people to vote third party. But according to our opinion, and we cite our religious references in the letter, Islam promotes the middle course, to do your best to minimize harm or relieve harm.”
Michigan has the highest share of Arab Americans and one of the highest shares of Muslims in the nation. With Trump winning Michigan by less than 11,000 votes in 2016 and President Joe Biden taking the state in 2020 by more than 154,000 votes, Arab-American and Muslim voters could prove decisive this election.
Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at the final night of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Ill., on Aug. 22, 2024. (Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance)
In February, about 100,000 people voted “uncommitted” in the Democratic presidential primary over Biden, with many angry over the war in Gaza.
This week, the Abandon Harris group endorsed Green Party nominee Jill Stein.
“We are not choosing between a greater evil and a lesser evil,” said the group in a statement. “We are confronting two destructive forces: one currently overseeing a genocide and another equally committed to continuing it. Both are determined to see it through. We call on Muslim-Americans and all those who stand firmly against genocide to vote for the Green Party in 2024.”
Saadiq, a former police chaplain and associate imam at the Muslim Center in Detroit, says the Muslim community needs to be realistic that there are really only two choices on the ballot Nov. 5 that have a path to power.
“Voting for third parties only serves to split the vote and allow a pathway for a very hateful movement that is not just pushing all of the ugly ‘isms’ — the racism, the antisemitism, homophobia, xenophobia, all of the ugly ‘isms’ and ugly phobias,” he said. “But it’s also a movement that is trying to upend democracy itself and for everyone to be an equal participant in American democracy and the civil rights that we’ve all benefited from. So I think it’s a very important letter and it should be shared widely.”
Republicans in Michigan have made a concerted effort to try and woo disaffected Muslim voters, who have typically been a reliable Democratic voting bloc. That effort took a step forward this week with the opening of a Trump campaign office in Hamtramck, which has the nation’s first all-Muslim City Council and mayor.
That mayor, Amer Ghalib, officially endorsed Trump last month with a statement on Facebook.
“President Trump and I may not agree on everything, but I know he is a man of principles,” said Ghalib. “Though it’s looking good, he may or may not win the election and be the 47th president of the United States, but I believe he is the right choice for this critical time. I’ll not regret my decision no matter what the outcome would be, and I’m ready to face the consequences.”
Regardless, Democrats and the Harris campaign have made their own outreach efforts to the Muslim community.
In Flint last week, Harris met with leaders from the Arab American and Muslim community. That was just a day after Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, spoke on a virtual call with Emgage Action’s Million Muslim Votes campaign.
Emgage, a Muslim-American advocacy group, endorsed Harris last month. The Uncommitted movement, meanwhile, last month declined to endorse in the presidential race, although it still stressed that it opposes Trump.
Pro-Palestinian rally at the Michigan Capitol, Oct. 12, 2023 | Lily Guiney
Saadiq acknowledged that the anger in the Muslim community about the lack of action by the Biden administration to force a ceasefire agreement on Israel is real and is in no way being ignored with the endorsement of Harris. However, he says Republicans, and Trump especially, have been cynically exploiting the issue for political gain.
“Sadly, that’s the Donald Trump effect, and that’s the danger of the MAGA movement,” he said. “Because what it does is, one extreme leads to further extremes. So, if you push the society to one extreme, then people will make extreme and rash decisions to try to counterbalance.”
Saadiq says those who signed the letter hope to serve as a “pragmatic voice coming from the Muslim community” encouraging members to not make matters worse by making decisions out of anger and trauma.
That anger came out this week when three members of the Hamtramck City Council members announced they were also endorsing Harris following comments by Trump referring to Middle Eastern immigrants as “known terrorists.”
When the Abandon Biden movement took root earlier this year — back when the president was still running for reelection — Saadiq says while he didn’t necessarily agree that was the best approach, he understood the anger that prompted it.
“To say Abandon Biden, that may have some legitimacy even though I didn’t agree with it. Now Abandon Harris? It doesn’t make sense. Vice President Kamala Harris had actually spoken out in favor of a ceasefire. And Vice President Harris and Gov. Walz, they’re committed to ensuring Palestinians self-determination,” he said.
In her acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention (DNC), Harris said that she “will always stand up for Israel’s right to defend itself and I will always ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself.” But she also condemned the violence against Palestinians and stressed their rights.
Abandon Harris endorses Green Party nominee Jill Stein
“[W]hat has happened in Gaza over the past 10 months is devastating. So many innocent lives lost. Desperate, hungry people fleeing for safety, over and over again. The scale of suffering is heartbreaking,” Harris said. “President Biden and I are working to end this war such that Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends, and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity. Security. Freedom. And self-determination.”
Saadiq says until Harris spoke about those goals in her DNC speech, he had never heard a presidential nominee, or any elected official, say that on such a prominent stage.
“Being a card-carrying Democrat, I was going to vote my party anyway,” he said “But I was apprehensive about endorsing and coming out publicly because of the hurt of my community. But when I saw Vice President Kamala Harris say that, I immediately posted her acceptance speech on my Facebook page.”
Having done that, Saadiq says he truly hopes Harris, if elected, can help this country be true to its ideals.
“We cannot tolerate [Israel] committing what it has all of the signs of a genocide to wipe the people of Gaza off their land,” he said. “Over 40,000 dead now, and disease is setting in, no water resources. We cannot tolerate that. If we’re really the flag-bearers of democracy and equality and unalienable rights, then we have to really stand for that.”
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