Romman’s name was among those proposed by “uncommitted” activists pushing for a Palestinian speaker on the
By MARIAM FAM
ATLANTA (AP) — With the death and destruction in Gaza on her mind, Soraya Burhani agonized over how to cast her vote for president.
“For us, Muslims, I see that there’s no good choice,” she said.
With the U.S. handling of the Israel-Hamas war and conflict in the Middle East looming over the White House race, many American Muslim voters — most of whom backed President Joe Biden four years ago — have been wrestling with voting decisions.
After U.S. support for Israel left many of them feeling outraged and ignored, some seek a rebuff of the Democrats, including by favoring third-party options for president. Others grapple with how to express their anger through the ballot box amid warnings by some against another Donald Trump presidency.
Soraya Burhani, right, works with Georgia Rep. Farooq Mughal, Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024, in Buford, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
For voters in swing states like Georgia, which Biden won in 2020 by fewer than 12,000 votes, the weight of such decisions can be amplified.
When it comes to voting, “the responses are all over the place and it’s not really aligned to one political party as it has in the past,” said Shafina Khabani, executive director at Georgia Muslim Voter Project. “Our communities, they’re sad; they’re mourning; they’re grieving; they’re angry and they’re confused.”
Burhani, a Malaysian American, ended up voting for Kamala Harris — but it was a vote against Trump, rather than in support of the Democratic vice president, she said. “It was very difficult. It was very painful. It was very sad.”
Burhani had become a spokesperson for a recently launched campaign, “No Peace No Peach,” that urged withholding votes from Harris unless demands, including halting arms shipments to Israel, were met. The group ultimately encouraged voters to “keep Palestine in mind at the ballot box, and vote with their conscience.”
Some others, she said, “can’t bring themselves” to vote for Harris and will instead back the Green Party’s Jill Stein.
They include Latifa Awad, who has relatives in Gaza and said she wants her vote for Stein to send a message: our voices matter.
“People are like, ‘well, if you don’t vote for Kamala, then you’re voting for Trump,” she said. But, she added, “they both support Israel.”
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Source:: The Mercury News – Entertainment
