Some US Muslims struggle to find a candidate they can tolerate supporting for president

ATLANTA (AP) — With nan death and destruction successful Gaza connected her mind, Soraya Burhani agonized complete really to formed her ballot for president.

“For us, Muslims, I spot that there’s nary bully choice,” she said.

With nan U.S. handling of nan Israel-Hamas war and conflict successful nan Middle East looming over nan White House race, galore American Muslim voters — most of whom backed President Joe Biden 4 years agone — person been wrestling pinch voting decisions.

After U.S. support for Israel near galore of them emotion outraged and ignored, immoderate activity a rebuff of nan Democrats, including by favoring third-party options for president. Others grapple pinch really to definitive their anger done nan ballot container amid warnings by immoderate against different Donald Trump presidency.

For voters successful plaything states for illustration Georgia, which Biden won successful 2020 by less than 12,000 votes, nan weight of specified decisions tin beryllium amplified.

When it comes to voting, “the responses are each complete nan spot and it’s not really aligned to 1 governmental statement arsenic it has successful nan past,” said Shafina Khabani, executive head astatine 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 ballot against Trump, alternatively than successful support of nan Democratic vice president, she said. “It was very difficult. It was very painful. It was very sad.”

Burhani had go a spokesperson for a precocious launched campaign, “No Peace No Peach,” that urged withholding votes from Harris unless demands, including halting arms shipments to Israel, were met. The group yet encouraged voters to “keep Palestine successful mind astatine nan ballot box, and ballot pinch their conscience.”

Some others, she said, “can’t bring themselves” to ballot for Harris and will alternatively backmost nan Green Party’s Jill Stein.

They see Latifa Awad, who has relatives successful Gaza and said she wants her ballot for Stein to nonstop a message: our voices matter.

“People are like, ‘well, if you don’t ballot for Kamala, past you’re voting for Trump,” she said. But, she added, “they some support Israel.”

Jahanzeb Jabbar said he voted for Trump successful 2020 and supports him this year.

“If Trump was successful agency and this was going on, I would person not voted for him,” he said. “Had nan Democrats travel retired pinch a very beardown stance connected a ceasefire and stopping subject assistance to Israel, my ballot was fresh to beryllium had.”

He sees Trump arsenic “the amended option” for peace, saying nan Republican nominee is simply a bully woody maker. Jabbar rejects warnings by immoderate that things would beryllium worse nether Trump, questioning really it tin get worse aft Israel’s subject violative successful Gaza has already killed complete 43,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza wellness authorities.

The warfare was sparked by nan Oct. 7, 2023 onslaught connected Israel successful which Hamas-led militants killed immoderate 1,200 group and took about 250 hostages.

In 2020, among Muslim voters nationally, astir two-thirds supported Biden and astir one-third supported Trump, according to AP VoteCast. That Biden support has near galore emotion betrayed aliases moreover guilty.

“They’re seeing these elected officials that they voted for essentially, to them, backing a warfare that’s sidesplitting their ain family and friends,” Khabani said. At nan aforesaid time, organization members pass against different Trump presidency, she said, recalling Trump’s prohibition while successful agency that affected travelers from respective Muslim-majority countries. Biden rescinded nan ban.

Some Muslims, Khabani said, are besides concerned astir specified issues arsenic nan maternal mortality rate successful Georgia’s Black communities, health-care affordability and weapon safety.

Many, she said, are unsure if they want to vote. She and others person urged them to not place down-ballot races.

Nationally, immoderate belief leaders person backed various sides of nan debate.

One missive signed by a group of imams and different leaders urged U.S. Muslims to cull what they said was a “false binary” and to make a connection by voting 3rd statement successful nan statesmanlike election.

“We will not taint our hands by voting for aliases supporting an management that has brought truthful overmuch bloodshed upon our brothers and sisters,” it said, emphasizing that this was nary endorsement of Trump, whom it besides criticized.

A different group of imams said that nan use of backing Harris “far outweighs nan harms of nan different options.”

“Knowingly enabling personification for illustration Donald Trump to return to office, whether by voting straight for him aliases for a third-party candidate, is some a civilized and a strategical failure,” that missive stated.

In plaything authorities Michigan, Trump has secured a number of endorsements from Muslims, including 2 mayors, moreover arsenic galore different leaders r emained negative toward him.

Harris and Trump person jostled for an separator among Arab and Muslim American voters and Jewish voters, particularly successful tight races successful Michigan and Pennsylvania. U.S. Muslims, who are racially and ethnically diverse, dress up a mini sliver of wide voters, but organization activists dream that energizing much of them, particularly successful cardinal plaything states pinch notable Muslim populations, makes a quality successful adjacent races.

“If you don’t unrecorded successful a plaything state, I envy you,” said Georgia State Rep. Ruwa Romman, a Democrat of Palestinian descent. “For those of america successful plaything states ... it has been a suffocating and crushing responsibility.”

Romman’s sanction was among those projected by “uncommitted” activists pushing for a Palestinian speaker connected nan Democratic National Convention’s stage. Denial of that request dismayed galore of those wanting Harris to separate herself from Biden’s Gaza policy. Some had credited Harris pinch striking a much empathetic reside toward Palestinian suffering but said she grounded to travel that pinch action.

Romman, had she fixed a speech, would person called for electing Harris and defeating Trump, while outlining demands, including for a cease-fire. She laments nan rejection of nan “symbolic gesture” of a speaker arsenic a mislaid opportunity but says Trump would beryllium “so overmuch worse” for Palestinians. “I’m conscionable disappointment because I’m sitting betwixt 2 immovable entities, right? — nan Harris run and nan community,” she said. “Sometimes it feels for illustration they’re really moving further distant from each other.”

She said, “If I judge there’s a chance to extremity nan genocide nether Harris but nary chance nether Trump, don’t I person a civilized responsibility to get to that situation?”

An attendee astatine an Arab American normal successful Michigan precocious told Romman it was “disgusting” that she had been consenting to return nan DNC shape and connection an endorsement past without a argumentation displacement by nan administration.

Nasrina Bargzie, head of Muslim and Arab American outreach for Harris’ campaign, said successful a connection that passim her career, Harris “has been patient successful her support of our country’s divers Muslim community, including ensuring that they tin unrecorded free from nan hateful policies of nan Trump administration.” She added that Harris “will proceed moving to bring nan warfare successful Gaza to an extremity successful a measurement wherever Israel is secure, nan hostages are released, nan suffering successful Gaza ends, and nan Palestinian group tin recognize their correct to dignity, security, state and self-determination.”

Trump run elder advisor Brian Hughes said nan Harris-Biden administration’s “failed overseas argumentation has brought death, chaos, and warfare to nan Middle East,” adding that only Trump “will reconstruct bid and stableness successful nan Middle East for each group and he will protect belief state for each Americans, arsenic he did successful his first term.”

Trump has touted his support for Israel and arsenic president declared Jerusalem arsenic Israel’s capital.

At Georgia’s Atlanta Masjid of Al-Islam, wherever nan congregation is chiefly African American, mosque-goer Sabir Muhammad said that “as Muslims, of course, we’re disheartened by nan business successful Gaza and we can’t support nan authorities being complicit.”

He said he felt he had small prime this predetermination — Trump is not an action for him — and would astir apt ballot for Harris, adding, later, that he voted but wanted to support his prime private.

“We’re successful a quandary,” he had said.

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Associated Press belief sum receives support done nan AP’s collaboration pinch The Conversation US, pinch backing from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.