Muslims rally behind voter registration drive
‘This is a time we want our voices to be heard’
MEMPHIS, Tenn. – On a Friday afternoon after prayers, 17-year-old Haneen Jaber filled out a form on the patio of the Muslim Society of Memphis.
About to turn 18, Jaber was registering to vote.
“A lot of the things that are going on in the government are made by the decision of the people,” Jaber said. “Don’t just stay in the back. Be up there in the front. That’s what you should do as an American. I believe I should put my part in and decide on good choices for America.”
Jaber was one of many Muslims around the country registering to vote as part of National Muslim Voter Registration Day. In Memphis, the American Muslim Advisory Council is holding registration drives at five area mosques, trying to increase civic engagement before the municipal elections in October.
The National Muslim Voter Registration Day was part of the #MyMuslimVote campaign, which also took place across the country.
Najmun Noor, West Tennessee program manager for the American Muslim Advisory Council, said Muslims around the world feel “beleaguered.”
“Others look at us differently,” Noor said. “This is a time (when) we want our voices to be heard (and) at the same time our rights to be established.”
Mariam Khayata, a political science and international studies major at Rhodes College in Memphis, has done registration drives in previous years. There’s a realization among Muslims that they need to become more active in U.S. elections, she said.
“This is our country, we have our rights to vote and we need to take advantage of them just like every other faith group or every other ethnicity does here,” Khayata said.
“This is our country, we have our rights to vote and we need to take advantage of them.” Mariam Khayata A political science and international studies major at Rhodes College
The group planned to register people to vote in the Oct. 3 Memphis municipal election, but that could also act as a springboard for the 2020 presidential elections, Noor said.
They estimate that there are about 17,000 Muslims in Memphis and around 40,000 statewide.
“I know that every vote counts,” said Alhasan Hadidi, who first registered to vote last year. “More of the Muslim community needs to go out voting. If we don’t vote, your voice won’t be heard.”
Khayata said that, yes, part of the impetus for the drive is negative portrayal of Muslims in the media and because of the political climate.
But it’s more than that, she said. “It’s us realizing we have this right and we need to take it,” Khayata said.
“In a sense it’s also a religious responsibility for us to be active in our communities.”