Go Vote

Monday | Safa 21, 1440 AH | November 6th, 2018

Assalamu alaikum:

It started like this: the Muslim community in this American city heard about a plan to build a bar in their neighborhood. This was an area with a large Masjid. About 40 people approached the alderman of that town for a hearing on this issue. Along with them, 10 others attended in support of the bar.

In the meeting, the alderman asked, “How many of you are citizens?” All of the Muslims except one raised their hands. All 10 of the supporters of the bar raised their hands.

He then asked the Muslims how many of them were registered to vote. Out of 40, only four raised their hands. When he asked the same of the supporters of the bar, all 10 raised their hands. Seeing this, the alderman explained that while he was sympathetic to the concerns of the Muslim community, in the face of four registered voters versus ten, he would favor the position of the greater number of voters.

And that is how a bar was built in a Masjid neighborhood.

In America we have an opportunity to be counted. But unless we participate we will be ignored. And apathy is no longer about just bars in Masjid neighorboods. Much more is at stake. By not voting, Muslims play a key role in the victory of racists. At a recent Sound Vision dinner, Sr. Linda Sarsour noted that if Muslims, especially in swing states, had voted, the outcome would have been very different because numbers count when it comes to voting.

In the two years since the last elections, we now have a Supreme Court-supported version of Muslim ban in place; violent attacks on Blacks, Muslims, Jews and Latinos, are common. Now some are even floating the unconstitutional idea of stripping citizenship from those not born in America.

With the blessing of God we can turn this around. But God expects us to do something, to say something, to speak up. And your vote is how you do that.

Please vote today, and take your children with you so they watch you exercise this duty of every American citizen. Call like-minded family members, friends, and neighbors and encourage them to do the same.

If you don’t know where to vote, here it is.

Don’t be a slacker; be a voter.

Peace,

Imam Malik Mujahid

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