Nearly every immigrant or minority group has had to overcome some form of oppression or scrutiny while fighting for acceptance and equality — Italian Americans, Jewish Americans, Chinese Americans and Mexican Americans all have their immigrant narrative. Muslim Americans have made scattered forays throughout the country — in the Dallas area, where I live, the Good Citizen Committee, a local Muslim American political group, has exerted its influence in recent local elections through its voter registration and mobilization efforts. An informal survey of Muslim Americans in Dallas, which has a relatively large Muslim community, found, however, that Muslim turnout for local and midterm elections is likely somewhere under 20 percent, greatly diminishing our influence in down-ballot races. In exercising our clout, Muslim Americans don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Investments such as these would not only strengthen the Muslim community’s position, but make insulting and harmful rhetoric about Muslim Americans a negative, not a positive for aspiring politicians.

Source: Washington Post May 01, 2017 10:04 UTC