For whom will American Muslims vote?

Next month, the pillar of democracy, the US of A, will choose its next president. Election campaigning is at its apex. Issues take the prime time slot in media, especially digital media where “cosmetologists” and “makeup artists” are at their wit’s end competing to make their products attractive to the discerning and discriminating voters. Political blocs have come alive reenergizing their stock to market candidates who can protect and promote their peers’ and group’s interests.

In the 2020 election, American Muslims had a clear choice. They voted for Biden not because he quoted Koranic verses in his campaign speeches, which might have been a cheap gimmick, but because of the xenophobic discriminatory policy of Trump.

Remember, Trump banned citizens of five Muslim countries from entering the United States. Even American citizens vacationing in their countries of origin could not return to the US. Thank God, the policy was struck down as unconstitutional by the court. Biden got the Muslim vote because the alternative was Trump.

The Muslim American bloc, a Muslim political aggrupation, had shown that there was a Muslim vote in that election, especially in vote-rich states. Their solidarity was forged in the shadow of ummah Islamiyah or Muslim brotherhood which made them a political force. There were reportedly 50 Muslims elected to the US Senate, House and other top offices in various states.

America is now struggling to show that it is true to its tagline as a show window and stalwart of democratic values that gives equal opportunity to all.

In the coming November election, the American Muslims who are still suffering from the hangover of that cruel xenophobic policy of Trump will likely not vote for him. But is Kamala Harris a better alternative?

The raging gordian knot that is the Palestinian issue is a dominant factor in the coming election.

There are sweeping street protests by Americans against the killing machine that is Israel helmed by Netanyahu who remains adamant about pursuing his ethnic cleansing (more than 40,000 have died since the war broke out) in defiance of United Nations resolutions and world opinion. The negotiations for the release of the American hostages still hangs in the balance.

American Muslim voters are in a fix. Who between Trump and Harris should they vote for? Both are friends of Netanyahu. They could probably relate more to Harris whose origins are those of being a member of a minority in American society. And Harris will squeeze blood from that issue. But she is married to a Jew and Muslims have a historical enmity with Jewish Israel.

President Biden, Harris’ sponsor, will have to do more to address the hostage crisis and push for a ceasefire, if not a solution to the unabated heinous acts of Netanyahu. Else, the alternative will be the defeat of Harris.

What about the Philippine elections?

A pertinent question resurfaces: Is there a Muslim vote in the Philippines much like the Iglesia ni Cristo, Jesus is Lord Movement, Quiboloy’s Kingdom of Jesus Christ, etc?

I didn’t see any trace of this on the past or present political horizon. Even the Restorationist movement of the Tableigh in Lanao is wracked with division. Local Muslims cannot even agree on when to start and end the fasting month of Holy Ramadan. They are hardly a factor in national elections.

The Moros more often sacrifice their bangsa or race and religion for mundane considerations like money. Christian candidates get more votes than Muslims in Muslim-dominated areas. Their lack of cohesiveness was the reason for their intermittent representation in the Senate in the past, a political aberration mildly assuaged by the recent victory of Senator Robin Padilla, a Muslim convert whose victory could be attributed more to his thespian abilities than the Muslim vote.

Why is this so?

Filipino Muslims are hopelessly enslaved and bogged down by disunity. Despite the Islamic injunction of brotherhood in ummah Islamiyah, they just cannot get united. Tribal and political rivalry is deep-rooted that they forget they are a minority in the country and with their schism are easy prey to exploitation.

Islamic history can partly explain the phenomenon. The bitter rivalry between the Sunni and Shiite Muslims goes back to the 7th century when the Prophet Mohamad died without leaving a successor-Caliph. As a consequence, his family members and followers founded two rival sects — Shiite and Sunni — that are now vying for political dominance in the Middle East.

As the Moros continue to be fragmented, opportunities for peace and development pass them by.

Email: amb_mac_lanto@yahoo.com