The letter comes as polling within the Muslim American community shows a major departure from the Democratic Party over the Biden-Harris administration's unfettered support for Israel's war on Gaza, which they along with rights groups and legal experts view is a genocide against Palestinians.
The letter calls on Muslims to instead vote for any of the third-party candidates, including the Green Party's Jill Stein whose support has swelled among the Muslim American community in recent weeks.
"We want to be absolutely clear: don’t stay home and skip voting. This year, make a statement by voting third party for the presidential ticket," the letter said.
"Equally important, vote all the way down the ballot for candidates and policies that stand for truth and justice, ensuring your voice is heard at every level."
The letter, written and released in collaboration with the Abandon Harris campaign, was signed by more than three dozen religious leaders from all around the country, including Dawud Walid, Dr Shadee Elmasry, Imam Omar Suleiman, Dr Yasir Qadhi, and Imam Tom Facchine.
The imams who have signed the letter say the calls for Muslims to uncritically support Harris is fear-mongering.
"None of this is an endorsement of Donald Trump's vile, racist agenda, which includes advancing the apartheid and genocidal interests of a foreign state while falsely claiming to put America first," the letter said.
Oh, of course, but expect similar to what happened with "Bernie bros" after Hillary's loss in 2016 to happen to muslim-Americans in 2024 if Harris loses.
Great question. I am mostly to blame because they are mentioned in the original article somewhere in the middle. I just didn't paste in the entire article. It's very long so I had to do some cutting after pasting 6 lines.
It comes after an umbrella group of major Muslim groups in the US released a similar call urging members to vote third-party, whether it be for Stein, Dr Cornel West, the Party for Socialism and Liberation's Claudia De la Cruz, or the Libertarian Party's Chase Oliver.
Jill Stein has made the genocide her main campaign point. Her platform also is not very "radical'. She mostly offers everything Democrats are asking for. Universal healthcare, ranked choice voting etc. For implementing rcv to escape the duopoly she is imo the best 'compromise candidate'.
It also helps that realistically only the Greens have the ballot access and infrastructure to make winning possible. A bit difficult to advocate for a candidate who literally cannot win.
The Uncommitted Campaign, a movement that gained media attention for its call to withhold votes from President Biden during the primary elections over the war on Gaza, released a statement earlier this month saying that while it could not officially endorse Harris, voters should not cast their ballot for any other candidate but her.
How's that not an offical endorsement?
Single issue voters and third party voters have always existed, and always will. If your political strategy is to blame them when you lose, you deserve to lose. Make a halfway decent campaign strategy. Or don't.
Kamala knew how to get their votes, and she decided to support the continued violence instead. Maybe she had good reasons, maybe not, but it was a clear calculation and choice. Why would you insult her intelligence? Why would you undercut her campaign so close to election day? How dare you endorse Trump!
continues a policy you dont agree with
Reducing genocide to a simple policy that can be agreed or disagreed with is monstrous.
It's genocide, you framed it as a choice to be agreed with or not, and not as a cruel act of inhumanity.
my policy is that you should be shot, but i'm gonna need you to ignore that and support me anyway.
it's just a policy.
Calling the majority of Muslim-American voters and Palestinians "kids" is wildly racist and condescending.
nobody said anything about biden being a vile racist. if that id your thought of him then it is you that is the shit you name. self righteousness is its own curse
nobody said anything about biden being a vile racist
Because none of the people you listen to actually give a shit about racism
luv 2 sneer at minorities being genocided when those minorities wouldn't vote for someone killing their family. Seems like a cool thing for an Ally and Progressive to do.
Called it, the anti-Muslim hatred from liberals is already here, and they haven't even lost yet.
don't worry! nobody ever expected your worthless ass to lift a finger. everyone immediately understands upon meeting you that you are a gutless coward who stands for nothing.
