U.S. Muslim Community: On the Way to Significant Political Power

The war between Israel and Hamas has led to an unprecedented rise in anti-Zionist discourse among Muslims in the United States, including calls to punish the Democrats at the ballot box for their support of Israel. In fact, there isn’t any large Muslim community in America, but in key states such as Michigan, Pennsylvania and Georgia, Muslims could, for the first time, become a force that will determine who the next president is.

One of the hot issues in November’s U.S. presidential election is how much political influence the American Muslim community will have, a community that, for the first time, appears to have real potential to influence the candidates.

This reality began to take shape in recent decades and materialized after the events of 9/11 brought many in the Muslim community to widespread political and social activism. They wanted to combine Islam with activism to improve their image and strengthen their national identity, which was seen in a negative light after the terrorist attacks. Among other things, these changes led to the election of the first Muslim member of Congress, Keith Ellison, in 2006.

In recent decades, American Muslims’ advocacy for Palestinians emerged for most particularly after Israeli Defense Forces operations in Gaza such as Protective Edge and Guardian of the Walls, but the attack by Hamas on Oct. 7 was the catalyst that pushed this struggle to unprecedented heights. The reaction to the massacre that ignited the large-scale war in Gaza, a war in which tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed so far, brought a previously unseen jump in anti-Zionist rhetoric among many prominent Muslims in the United States. The Muslim community harshly criticized the Biden administration, which expressed support for Israel. Some 400,000 demonstrators rallied in Washington, D.C. in support of the Palestinians.

Despite the limited number of Muslims in America, considered to be the third largest religious demographic behind Jews and Christians, their location and influence in the swing states such as Michigan, Pennsylvania and Georgia, is likely to strengthen the influence of the Muslim vote in the presidential election. There was a visible drop in support for the Democratic Party by parts of the Muslim community while Joe Biden was still a presidential candidate, and some claim that replacing him with Kamala Harris brought a positive change for the Democrats. However, even if people take Biden to be clearly pro-Israel, some see Harris as someone who was part of his administration, who supported Israel’s war in Gaza, and as someone who would continue his policy on U.S.-Israel relations. Thus, for example, one of the major disappointments with Harris and the Democratic Party by part of the Muslim and Arab community came after the Democrats refused to let a Palestinian representative appear at the Democratic National Convention. In fact, an African American Muslim woman presented at the convention, but some in the Muslim community had firmly wished for Palestinian Arab representation in light of the situation.

This example not only illustrates tensions between Muslims in the United States and the Democratic Party, but also the clear heterogeneity of Islam in America — a community composed of people from 75 countries around the world. One of the disadvantages of religious, cultural and ethnic diversity is the internal disagreement that render a unified bloc difficult. For example, a not insignificant portion of the African American Muslim community consider domestic challenges such as Islamophobia and racism more important than the bloody conflict in the Middle East. Arab Americans, particularly those of Palestinian background, see the struggle for Gaza as their highest priority.

The Democratic Party was seen as the natural political home for many Muslims following 9/11 because it empathized with their vulnerable situation in the wake of the terrorist attacks. But since the war began in Gaza, Muslim voices are calling to punish Democrats for continuing to support Israel. Voting for the Green Party led by Jill Stein may reflect the anger of Muslim and Arab voters whom the Democrats have disappointed and who want to use their votes to impose an aid embargo on Israel. Nevertheless, it is possible that, as with Barack Obama, the multicultural figure of Harris represents an advantage as she reflects the strengthening of demographic diversity in the United States and the power of minorities in a country becoming less white over the years.

Still, the growing political power of the Muslim community in this large Western country and its recognizable global influence is creating a reality that will likely harden America’s political positions, carrying with it significant implications for the state of Israel and the larger Jewish community internationally, particularly in the wake of Oct. 7.