The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) on November 3 recognised the historic victories of several American Muslim candidates breaking barriers in Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania.
CAIR congratulated the following American Muslims on their hard-fought and ground-breaking electoral victories:
Tania Fernandes Anderson, first Cape Verdean American immigrant and American Muslim elected to the Boston City Council, Massachusetts.
Etel Haxhiaj, first Albanian American refugee and American Muslim elected to the Worcester City Council, Massachusetts.
Abdullah Hammoud, first Lebanese American Muslim elected mayor of Dearborn, Michigan.
Amer Ghalib, first Yemeni American immigrant and American Muslim elected to mayor of Hamtramck, Michigan.
Azrin Awal, first Bangladeshi American immigrant and American Muslim elected to the Duluth City Council, Minnesota.
Shama Haider, first Pakistani American and American Muslim elected to the New Jersey State legislature.
Umar Muhammad, first Pakistani American and American Muslim elected to the Galloway Township Council, New Jersey.
Shahana Hanif, first Bangladeshi American and American Muslim women elected to the New York City Council, New York.
Amira Muflahi, first Yemeni American and American Muslim woman to be elected to the Lackawanna City Council, New York.
Dr. Mariam Mahmud, first Pakistani American and American Muslim elected to the Central Bucks School Board, Region 5, Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
Taiba Sultana, first Pakistani American immigrant and American Muslim elected to the Easton City Council, Pennsylvania.
CAIR also congratulated Lebanese American Muslim Dearborn Heights Mayor Bill Bazzi who fended off a challenge to continue being mayor. He was appointed to that post by the city council in January.
“CAIR congratulates these newly-elected American Muslim mayors, city council and school board members for winning historic victories and exemplifying our community’s commitment to public service,” said CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw. “We hope that American Muslims whose policies reflect the justice-oriented values and principles of our community will continue making history across our nation. This is what America looks like, this is diversity in public service, and exemplifies the trust Americans are placing in Muslim candidates running for office.”
On November 2, CAIR urged American Muslims to turn out and vote in elections taking place in more than 30 states across the country.
In March, CAIR, Jetpac and MPower Change released a comprehensive report of all Muslim-identifying candidates who ran for public office in 2020 that found 181 Muslim candidates were on 2020 ballots across 28 states and Washington D.C., with 80 being elected to office.
CAIR is America’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.