On Monday, Democratic candidate Joe Biden set a historic precedent as the first presidential candidate in American history to speak to a group of Muslim Americans before the presidential elections. No presidential candidate - whether from the Republican or Democratic Party - has ever spoken to them at this advanced time in the campaign.
This came through Biden hosting by the Image Association, which is active in the field of political rights of Muslims in the United States, through a virtual program on the Internet under the title "Summit of One Million Muslim Voices" in which more than 3 thousand American Muslims participated.
Biden considered that Muslims have suffered from abuse and racism despite their contributions to American society, and that he will in turn cancel the travel ban imposed by the Trump administration on Muslims from the first day of his administration, saying, "If I have the honor to be president, I will end the ban imposed on Muslims on the first day."
For his part, Wael Al-Zayat, head of the Image Association, told US National Radio, “We needed direct engagement with Biden in a Muslim-led video event, which was one of the clear criteria that we set there, and we succeeded in that.”
Hadith Sharif
Biden opened his speech by summoning a hadith of the Prophet Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace, "Whoever deems you denounced, let him enlighten him," and praised the teachings of the Messenger, vowing to use American Muslims within his presidential team.
Biden also pledged to support the Palestinians and stop supporting dictatorships around the world, focusing on the phenomenon of Islamophobia "that contributed to the rise of President Donald Trump's policies and positions."
Regarding Middle East policies, Biden referred to the traditional position of the Democratic Party, which advocates a two-state solution and rejects unilateral Israeli measures, especially with regard to the continued construction of settlements in the West Bank.
Biden praised the contribution of America's Muslims in facing the emerging Corona virus, and did not address issues of terrorism or Islamic extremism.
He said, "One of the things that I think is important is that I wish we learned more in our schools about the Islamic faith. We all come from the same human roots and share the same basic beliefs."
The importance of a Muslim voice
It is not known with certainty the number of Muslims in the United States, and it is not known who has the right to vote, but expert estimates indicate at least 6 million American Muslims, including nearly a million voters who are distributed in all states.
The Muslim vote - especially with voter registration efforts - may play an important role in a number of swing states in which large numbers of Muslim Americans are concentrated, such as Michigan, where Trump won the state in the 2016 elections by a narrow margin of 0.02% or less than 11,000 votes.
During the history of the American presidential campaigns, Muslims participated and donated a lot of money in their individual capacities, whether from the Republican or Democratic party.
Never before had a national committee been formed to gather voice and Islamic money to play a public role and support one of the candidates for the White House.
It is noteworthy that a Pew Research Center study conducted in 2018 estimated that only 13% of Muslims are Republicans, while 20% of them see themselves as independent, and 66% of America's Muslims see themselves as democratic.