The Increased American Fear of Arab’s and Muslims in Politic’s….

Seems Blacks and Browns are being pushed down on the list of those some Republicans ARE rallying against….

Now against Arab/Muslim Americans?

Name calling….

References to Middle Eastern actions….

Religious fears….

The Backlash HAS begun….

 

Senator Tommy Tuberville called Dr. Abdul El-Sayed a “terrorist.”

Representative Nancy Mace described “every single Muslim holding public office in America” as “a threat to both national security and our republic.”

And on Monday, President Trump said that there were “jihadists being elected all over the place.”

In the days since Dr. El-Sayed’s victory in Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary, Republican leaders have embraced Islamophobic attacks and falsehoods like those three comments to portray him as an anti-American extremist. The onslaught is being fueled in part by Republican Party officials and has quickly become a central aspect of the strategy to beat Dr. El-Sayed in the fall. Few officials in the Republican Party have publicly tried to tamp down such messaging, though Dr. El-Sayed has not hesitated to parry the attacks.

“They’re going to point at me, they’re going to point at my name, like, ‘Wow, he’s different’,” he said the morning after his win. “My name is not raising your gas prices,” he added. “My name is not taking us to war. My name is not the reason you can’t afford your groceries.”

Muslim and Arab American political power is growing across the country, led by prominent figures officials including Zohran Mamdani, the mayor of New York City, and Dr. El-Sayed, who is the son of Egyptian immigrants and was born in Michigan. The number of Muslim American running for — and winning — local, state and federal elections has steadily increased over the past decade. Today, there are more than 230 elected Muslim officials, according to the Council on American-Islamic Relations, including four Muslim Americans in Congress, the highest number ever.

Three more could be elected to the House this fall. And in Michigan last week, several Arab Americans won contested primaries, including for the state legislature and mayor of Ann Arbor.

But the increase in power has also drawn considerable repercussions. Muslim officials say that their increased visibility has brought with it a wave of bigotry and threats. In recent years, President Trump has repeatedly attacked Representative Ilhan Omar, an immigrant, mocking her hijab and declaring that she should be “sent back” to Somalia. Multiple Republicans have falsely accused Mr. Mamdani of being a jihadist.

“There has been remarkable political progress for Muslims in American, but the backlash to that has come in the form of anti-Muslim hate that seems to be the worst we have seen yet,” said Edward Ahmed Mitchell, the national deputy director for CAIR, one of the largest Muslim advocacy group in the United States. Mr. Mitchell said that much of the negative response has stemmed from candidates’ criticism of Israel over the past several years.

“We have a generation who became very forceful at speaking for themselves,” Mr. Mitchell said. “They essentially said we are not going to take this anymore, we are not going to be begging for scraps.”…..

…

Many of these new leaders have made Palestinian rights and an end to military aid to Israel central to their platforms, arguing that such assistance directly undercuts spending on U.S. health care, housing and public schools. Their wins have helped shift the politics within the Democratic Party, where support for Israel now amounts to a liability in some quarters.

That change has helped fuel Republicans claims that the party is electing extremist candidates. Mike Pompeo, the former secretary of state, accused Dr. El-Sayed of being a “Hamas supporter.” Dr. El-Sayed has condemned the group.

The attacks have not been limited to Muslim and Arab American politicians’ views on Israel. More broadly, they have tried to depict candidates as out of step with the country, sometimes dangerously so….

…

CAIR estimates that there are more than 2.5 million Muslims registered to vote across the country, with many concentrated in key battleground states….

…

Dr. El-Sayed performed strongly in significant Arab American populations. In Dearborn, he won nearly 80 percent of the vote and 70 percent of the vote in nearby Dearborn Heights.

…

More…

Note….

Politics IS ‘Local’….

Especially for Arabs/Muslims in cities like New York and states like Michigan…..