One of the country’s largest Muslim political groups endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday, despite fierce opposition to her Middle East policies. Harris said stopping former President Donald Trump was of the utmost importance.
“We feel like we have an obligation to speak honestly to our communities as they grapple with perhaps the most difficult electoral choice they’ve ever had to make,” Wa’el Alzayat, CEO of Emgage Action, told NBC News. “We’re very clear and honest that the vice president has a long way to go, but we think there’s an opportunity to move her on those issues and prevent the very real threat of a Donald Trump presidency.”
Like other Muslim-American groups, Emgage Action, which aims to mobilize Muslim voters and increase community power, has often sided with Democrats in the past, particularly during the Trump era, when his rhetoric and immigration policies often targeted Muslims and Muslim countries.
But President Joe Biden’s support for Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza, which is now spreading into southern Lebanon, has turned many Muslim and Arab voters against Democrats. That threatens the party’s prospects among those communities, as polls show widespread discontent and strong support for anti-war third-party candidates like Green Party’s Jill Stein and independent Cornel West.
Last week, a coalition of other Muslim-American groups, the American Muslim 2024 Election Task Force, ignored Harris by urging American Muslims to vote for “any presidential candidate of their choice who supports a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and a U.S. arms embargo on the Israeli government, such as candidates Dr. Jill Stein, Dr. Cornel West or [Libertarian Party nominee] “Chase Oliver.”
Meanwhile, Trump’s campaign is trying to capitalize on Democratic frustration by reaching out to Arab-American voters.
Amer Ghalib, mayor of Hamtramck, Michigan, the city with the highest percentage of immigrants in the key state and the first city in the country to elect an all-Muslim city government, endorsed Trump on Monday.
Alzayat, of Emgage, said his group respected those in the community who make different decisions. And he acknowledged the difficulty of supporting Harris, pointing to Palestinian and Lebanese-American staffers and supporters of the group.
But he also said that supporting Harris is the best way for opponents of the Gaza war to advance their agenda and that Trump poses too much of a threat to American Muslims to allow them to stay home.
“If we agree that we want this war to end, and we agree that Donald Trump or Kamala Harris is going to be commander in chief, we believe that supporting her is the only way to advance the anti-war agenda,” Alzayat said. “We just don’t see a path forward under a Donald Trump presidency.”
He points to the so-called Muslim ban during Trump’s term, his current threat to deport pro-Palestinian student protests, and more.
Alzayat said he and others also spoke with Trump advisers, including Trump’s former acting director of national intelligence Ric Grennell, but he said “we left very disappointed with the lack of commitment.”
Trump is a staunch ally of Israel and its controversial leader, Benjamin Netanyahu, and has been vague on Palestinian rights. So Alzayat and others say Israel would feel even more emboldened under Trump and would face less pressure to limit civilian casualties or end the war.
By supporting Harris and encouraging Muslim voters to turn out to vote, Emgage hopes to at least gain a seat at the negotiating table with a potential Harris administration so they can lobby her in a more favorable direction.
“We hold President Biden accountable for continuing to supply weapons to the Netanyahu government,” Alzayat said, drawing a distinction from Harris. “And we pledge to push the next administration.”
They have “hints and hopes” that Harris will distance herself from Biden if he is elected, Alzayat said — but he conceded, “that’s all we have.”
Harris campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriquez responded to the show of support by saying the campaign remains committed to working with Muslim leaders.
“We understand that this endorsement comes at a time of great pain and loss in the Muslim and Arab American communities,” Chavez Rodriquez said in a statement. “The Vice President will continue to work tirelessly to end the war in Gaza so that Israel is safe, all hostages are released, the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza ends, and the Palestinian people can exercise their right to freedom, dignity, security, and self-determination. As she has done over the past year, the Vice President will continue to work to prevent the conflict from spreading throughout the region.”
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
