Michigan Muslims avoid Harris in the US election due to the unrest in the Middle East

Soujoud Hamade, a registered Democrat, felt obliged to support Green Party candidate Jill Stein in the US presidential election because she was troubled by the everyday carnage raging in the Middle East.

After voting Tuesday at a school in Dearborn, the largest Arab-majority city in the US, where votes might make the difference in Michigan’s crucial battleground, the 32-year-old real estate attorney told AFP, “It is very emotional.”

Disillusioned with the Biden-Harris administration’s steadfast support for Israel, the Lebanese-American said, “Every time I watch the news or go on social media, I see my people being decimated, I see my home country being destroyed.”

Hamade claims to be unbiased on the two-way contest between Republican former President Donald Trump and Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris.

She maintains, however, that her vote is much more than a simple protest.

In order to “move the needle forward” and break the two-party control on US politics, she is counting on Stein to help her surpass the five percent national popular vote barrier, which would open up future federal funding for the Green Party.

About 110,000 people live in Dearborn, a Detroit suburb known as Henry Ford’s birthplace and the location of the Ford Motor Company’s headquarters. Of them, 55% identify as Middle Eastern or North African.

In 2020, the city decisively supported President Joe Biden, which helped him win Michigan by a slim margin.

However, new polling indicates that Muslim and Arab-American voters are moving away from the Democratic Party.

On Election Day, discussions with voters throughout the city revealed that pattern.

“Single-issue voter”—Stein, a Jewish doctor and the Green Party’s consistent left-leaning candidate—is expected to perform well among Muslims, progressives, and young people across the country, possibly providing Harris with a spoiler.

“She is the only one who opposes genocide,” said Muhammad Hijazi, a 28-year-old engineer who identified as a “single-issue voter” who had voted Democrat in the past but had since “lost faith.”

He said he doesn’t trust Trump to do any better and that the Democrats don’t have a strategy to bring peace to the Middle East.

However, there are indications that Trump could also do better than in previous cycles. In contrast to Harris, he travelled to Dearborn and spoke to a small crowd last week.

The Muslim mayors of Dearborn Heights and Hamtramck endorsed him when he reached out to the Muslim community in Michigan, and he has gained more popularity because to his newfound ties to the community through Tiffany Trump’s spouse, Lebanese-American son-in-law Michael Boulos.

At the former president’s final speech in Michigan, Dearborn Heights Mayor Bill Bazzi told Trump fans that Harris’ choice to run for office alongside former Republican congressman Liz Cheney, a fervent supporter of the Iraq War, was the last straw.

Lebanese-born 29-year-old first-grade teacher Charles Fawaz, who supported Trump, told AFP that he was pleased the previous president “showed up.”

“We had no problems with our foreign policy under Trump because other leaders respected our nation,” Fawaz stated.

Even if Trump fails to bring about peace in the Middle East, he still expects Republicans will improve economic management.

Although they deny the charge, former Democrats here acknowledge that some liberals will point the finger at them if Harris loses.

Hamade remarked, “It is absurd to put the burden of voting for someone who is directly assisting in the genocide of others on Arab Americans.”