Michigan Imam Bilal Al-Zuhairi: We supported Trump after agreeing with him on 5 points

During a campaign rally for Donald Trump in Michigan at the end of last October, a few days before the decisive day in the US elections, a number of Arab and Muslim representatives in the state took to the speakers’ platform, to explode a surprise that most political observers did not expect.

“Arabs support Trump” and “Muslims with Trump” were some of the slogans that were loudly raised by those present at that election rally, which ended the Democratic Party’s monopoly on the votes of Americans of Arab origin or those who embrace Islam.

The most prominent speaker at that election rally, after Trump, was the Islamic preacher Bilal al-Zuhairi, an American of Yemeni origin and the imam of the Grand Mosque in Hamtramck, Michigan, who gave a short, passionate speech in which he called on American Muslims to vote for Trump.

Our voice has been heard

Al-Zuhairi said in an interview with Al-Hurra TV that the voice of Arab Americans played a decisive role in determining the outcome of the last elections. He believes that we should not only look at Arab Americans, but also at American Muslims who had an increasing social role, which their participation in the elections translated into significant electoral weight.

Al-Zuhairi said that the election results “stirred up the stagnant waters,” and that the voice of American Muslims had been heard, and that this was exactly what he wanted to do, through the striking political stance that supported Trump, which had an impact on the election results.

In response to the criticism he faced after announcing his political position, Al-Zuhairi said that most of it was based on “the language of treason,” referring to the abandonment of traditional support for the Democratic Party, and that his political position gave American Muslims “a place in history.”

Al-Zuhairi explained that American Muslims decided to support Trump because he decided to support them on a number of issues that they consider important. He added that this support came after agreeing with Trump on 5 points that were announced during a meeting that included representatives of Muslims in the United States and a group of imams.

The five points include working hard to stop the war in the Middle East, especially in Gaza, and also in Ukraine, and preserving the identity of Muslim children in schools and educational curricula. These points also included integrating a number of Muslims into the next Trump administration, and combating the phenomenon of Islamophobia.

Compatible with many segments of American society

Al-Zuhairi believes that the Democratic Party has not only failed to deal with Muslims, but has also failed to deal with other minorities in American society.

Al-Zuhairi says that Democrats felt that Arabs and Muslims had their votes guaranteed, and that they would support them as usual in any election, “even reluctantly,” given the negative statements toward Muslims from some Republicans.

But the situation changed with the Republican Party’s openness to minorities and its entry into dialogue with Arab and Muslim Americans, who were given the opportunity to express their political conditions.

In Michigan, a swing state whose results were crucial in determining the winner of the presidential election, estimates indicate that Trump won 47% of the votes in the city of Dearborn, compared to 28% for Democratic candidate Kamala Harris.

Compared to the results of the 2020 election, when Arab and Muslim Americans gave significant support to the Democrats, Biden won about 75% of Dearborn’s votes, while Trump was only able to garner about 25%.

This major shift is due to the agreement in political positions between Arab and Muslim Americans on the one hand, and the American conservative audience on the other. Al-Zuhairi confirms this by saying that there is agreement with conservatives in the United States on supporting family values, and “protecting children in schools, and preserving their nature and psychological structure.”

However, the major shift in the position of Arab and Muslim Americans in Michigan did not prevent Democratic candidates of Arab origin, such as Rashida Tlaib, from maintaining her seat in the House of Representatives and re-winning her electoral district, which is considered a stronghold for the Democrats.

(Free America)