© Reuters. File photograph: Jaylani Hussein, Government Director of CAIR-Minnesota, speaks in entrance of activists and protesters, as protests proceed days after former police officer Kim Potter fatally shot Daunte Wright, in Brooklyn Middle, Minnesota, U.S. April 15, 2021
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By Andrew Hay
(Reuters) – Muslim American leaders from six battleground states on Saturday vowed to mobilize their communities towards President Joe Biden’s reelection over his assist of Israel’s conflict in Gaza, however they’ve but to choose another 2024 candidate.
The states are amongst a handful that allowed Biden to win the 2020 election. Opposition from their sizeable Muslim and Arab American communities might complicate the president’s path to Electoral School victory subsequent yr.
“We do not have two choices. We now have many choices,” Jaylani Hussein, director of Minnesota’s Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) chapter, mentioned at a press convention in Dearborn, Illinois when requested about Biden options.
“We’re not supporting (former President Donald) Trump,” he mentioned, including that the Muslim group would determine tips on how to interview different candidates.
The so-called #AbandonBiden marketing campaign started when Minnesota Muslim Individuals demanded Biden name for a ceasefire by Oct. 31, and has unfold to Michigan, Arizona, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Florida.
U.S. and Israeli officers have rebuffed strain for a everlasting halt in preventing, with U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris on Saturday echoing Biden saying Israel has a proper to defend itself.
Biden’s marketing campaign didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
Muslim Individuals mentioned they didn’t anticipate Trump to deal with their group any higher if reelected however noticed denying Biden votes their solely means to form U.S. coverage.
It stays to be seen whether or not Muslim voters would flip towards Biden en masse, however small shifts in assist might make a distinction in states Biden gained by slim margins in 2020.
A current ballot confirmed Biden’s assist amongst Arab Individuals has plunged from a cushty majority in 2020 to 17%.
That might be decisive in a state like Michigan the place Biden gained by 2.8 proportion factors and Arab Individuals account for five % of the vote, based on the Arab American Institute.
There are round 25,000 Muslim voters in Wisconsin, a state the place Biden gained by about 20,000 votes, mentioned Tarek Amin, a health care provider representing the state’s Muslim group.
“We are going to change the vote, we’ll swing it,” mentioned Amin.
In Arizona, the place Biden gained by round 10,500 votes, there are over 25,000 Muslim voters based on the US Immigration Coverage Middle on the College of California San Diego, mentioned Phoenix pharmacist Hazim Nasaredden.
“We won’t stand with a person who has tainted a blue wave with pink drops of blood,” mentioned Nasaredden.
