The registered number of Muslim-American voters in Michigan sits at around 206,000, this could mean that in theory, the Muslim vote can be the difference between winning or losing the State.
Muslim leaders in US swing states have initiated a campaign to withhold their votes for current US President, Joe Biden, in the 2024 election.
This has come after growing outrage over the refusal of the White House to call for a ceasefire in the ongoing Israeli war on Gaza.
What is This Campaign?
The Abandon Biden Campaign is in essence a movement to encourage Muslim Americans to withhold their vote from Joe Biden at the 2024 Presidential Election. It vows to help make Joe Biden a one-term President and hold him accountable for aiding Israel to commit what former senior UN official, Craig Mokhiber, wrote is a case of “textbook Genocide” taking place in Gaza.
After nearly eight weeks of widespread anti-war protests and boycotts of pro-Israeli companies, which have taken place throughout the United States, by Americans from all walks of life, this campaign is a peaceful way to democratically express the outrage of a portion of the US populace.
“But @POTUS is your only hope!" Nope. #AbandonBiden pic.twitter.com/ensDwCU9JK
— Dr. Omar Suleiman (@omarsuleiman504) December 4, 2023
Who is behind It?
The campaign is a coalition of grassroots organizers, Muslim groups and prominent figures from within the Muslim communities of Michigan, Minnesota, Arizona, Wisconsin, Florida, Georgia, Nevada and Pennsylvania.
“We’re looking into finding ways to build a mechanism of coordination between all the swing states so that we’re constantly working together to ensure that Muslim Americans will come out in all of these states, and that Mr. Biden will lose each and every one of them,” stated Hassan Abdel Salam, a member of the Abandon Biden Campaign and professor at the University of Minnesota.
Why was it Launched?
Jaylani Hussein, the executive director of CAIR-MINNESOTA, stated that “we are not powerless as American Muslims. We are powerful. We don’t only have the money, but we have the actual votes. And we will use that vote to save this nation from itself”.
Imagine having that kind of legacy #AbandonBiden pic.twitter.com/6bAlZ1l0lV
— الكسندرا ميراي (@LexiAlex) December 5, 2023
Within the first few weeks into Israel’s deadly assault on the Gaza Strip, when the Israeli government pledged to shut off food, water, electricity and fuel from the civilian population of Gaza, outrage emerged from Muslim American voters who said they “will not forget what President Biden did and why he lied to them,” expressing great disappointment.
The nationwide demand has been consistent for months. “Ceasefire Now” has been the slogan chanted across America by anti-war protesters, a call supported by some 80% of Democrats and the majority of US citizens polled, yet has been ignored by the Biden administration.
Given the massive surge in Islamophobia, coupled with the American President having directed unlimited weapons – using US taxpayer dollars – to the Israeli military, Muslim Americans have been made to feel targeted and lied to. Joe Biden infamously lied about seeing “confirmed pictures of terrorists beheading children”, a claim that has now been thoroughly debunked, while members of the US government have labeled pro-Palestine protests as “pro-Hamas” demonstrations, without real pushback from the Democratic party.
The attacks and threats won’t make us back down from our #AbandonBiden campaign! #GenocideJoe has got to go @potus @joebiden pic.twitter.com/4QCE9wROC4
— Hassan Shibly (@HassanShibly) December 4, 2023
The only Palestinian congressional representative, Rashida Tlaib, was censured. The decision to censure her was voted for by the majority of Democratic Party congresspeople. At every turn, public pressure campaigns and mass protests have failed to change the US President’s pro-Israel policy, which has resulted in around 21,000 Palestinians being killed in Gaza. The Abandon Biden Campaign is the final step to try and achieve accountability for what has been inflicted on the Muslim communities of the United States.
Will the Campaign Succeed?
According to the most recently updated data, released by the Pew Research Center, the Muslim-American population is roughly 3.45 million. In many Swing States a relatively small margin of votes can be the difference between a Presidential candidate winning or losing that respective State.
In Michigan, for example, Joe Biden only won the State in the 2020 elections by roughly 150,000 votes. The registered number of Muslim-American voters in Michigan sits at around 206,000, this could mean that in theory the Muslim vote can be the difference between winning or losing the State.
Although it is unclear just how successful the Abandon Biden Campaign will be, it is likely that with some of the most influential Muslim voices in the country, like that of Imam Omar Suleiman, endorsing the campaign it will have wide appeal.
– Robert Inlakesh is a journalist, writer, and documentary filmmaker. He focuses on the Middle East, specializing in Palestine. He contributed this article to The Palestine Chronicle.
If you don’t vote for Biden, definitely vote for Trump