The letter comes as polling within the Muslim American community shows a major departure from the Democratic Party over the Biden-Harris administration’s unfettered support for Israel’s war on Gaza, which they along with rights groups and legal experts view is a genocide against Palestinians.

The letter calls on Muslims to instead vote for any of the third-party candidates, including the Green Party’s Jill Stein whose support has swelled among the Muslim American community in recent weeks.

“We want to be absolutely clear: don’t stay home and skip voting. This year, make a statement by voting third party for the presidential ticket,” the letter said.

“Equally important, vote all the way down the ballot for candidates and policies that stand for truth and justice, ensuring your voice is heard at every level.”

The letter, written and released in collaboration with the Abandon Harris campaign, was signed by more than three dozen religious leaders from all around the country, including Dawud Walid, Dr Shadee Elmasry, Imam Omar Suleiman, Dr Yasir Qadhi, and Imam Tom Facchine.

The imams who have signed the letter say the calls for Muslims to uncritically support Harris is fear-mongering.

“None of this is an endorsement of Donald Trump’s vile, racist agenda, which includes advancing the apartheid and genocidal interests of a foreign state while falsely claiming to put America first,” the letter said.

  • PolandIsAStateOfMind@lemmy.ml
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    22
    ·
    2 months ago

    The Uncommitted Campaign, a movement that gained media attention for its call to withhold votes from President Biden during the primary elections over the war on Gaza, released a statement earlier this month saying that while it could not officially endorse Harris, voters should not cast their ballot for any other candidate but her.

    How’s that not an offical endorsement?

    • JamesTBagg@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      1
      arrow-down
      6
      ·
      2 months ago

      They don’t like her but can admit the current alternative will be much more terrible. They do not want to endorse a “lesser evil.” Option A will hurt, option B is likely to take a limb.

      • PolandIsAStateOfMind@lemmy.ml
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        10
        ·
        edit-2
        2 months ago

        No, it do not mean liking something. Endorsement is an act of acceptation and/or support. Saying “voters should not cast their ballot for any other candidate but her” is an explicit endorsement.

        • SmilingSolaris@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          1
          arrow-down
          6
          ·
          2 months ago

          Except that the people saying this are making a distinction between the two. Do you want to interpret what they are trying to say or do you wanna play word games? Disingenuous.

          • PolandIsAStateOfMind@lemmy.ml
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            5
            arrow-down
            1
            ·
            edit-2
            2 months ago

            Yeah sure, they want to eat cake and still have it. That’s a gutter level sophistry nobody would ever eat except people wanting hard to believe it like you. And you call me disingenous, lol.

            Also that cake is shit with poison topping, so bon apetit.

          • GarbageShootAlt2@lemmy.ml
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            2
            arrow-down
            1
            ·
            2 months ago

            How in the world does the original statement not count as disingenuous word games to avoid saying “we support blue genocide”?

            • SmilingSolaris@lemmy.world
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              1
              ·
              2 months ago

              By specifically acknowledging that no matter the choice, the genocide will continue and purposely putting that concept at the front while also acknowledging between the two options, one will be better than the other. I mean, your currently providing GDP toward genocide. If it was so all encompassingly important to you, you would be more radical than to argue on Lemmy. Put your life on the line soldier, or accept that there is only so much us western haters of genocide can do in this specific case at this specific point in time.

              • GarbageShootAlt2@lemmy.ml
                link
                fedilink
                arrow-up
                1
                ·
                edit-2
                2 months ago

                You see communists on lemmy argue constantly that political action can and must extend far past voting, this isn’t the own you think it is, though your position of “Oh, you think genocide is unacceptable? Go die for it while I do nothing” has been noted as your not at all convenient conservative position.

  • reddit_sux@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    9
    arrow-down
    2
    ·
    2 months ago

    For them the choice is between do they endorse the president who kills and bombs Palestinians or they don’t.

    It is not between Kamala Harris or Donald Trump. Even they know none of the choices can or will lead to less violence in the middle east.

    • geneva_convenience@lemmy.mlOP
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      10
      arrow-down
      7
      ·
      edit-2
      2 months ago

      President Donald Trump and the republican party who are currently running the government are going to learn that their poor foreign policy has electoral consequences.

      Everyone should vote for his opponent, Kamala Harris, who is in no shape or form part of the current government. This will show current President Donald Trump and his republican party that they have crossed a red line which nobody will vote for.

        • Dessalines@lemmy.ml
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          12
          arrow-down
          7
          ·
          2 months ago

          Arab americans are sick of having their homelands bombed by democrats. The Obama administration for example dropped an average of 60 bombs per day on the middle east and north africa during his presidency.

          • Gammelfisch@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            2
            arrow-down
            3
            ·
            2 months ago

            Who started the modern day shit storm in the Middle East? The GOP and the Bush family. You also need to ask the Saudis and Israelis and their involvement to persuade the US politicians into dropping bombs. Do you really think the Christian based Project 2025 will benefit Muslim Americans? Hell no, the GOP will turn the USA into a Christian version of 1979 Iran.

  • VoterFrog@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    12
    arrow-down
    11
    ·
    2 months ago

    It’s like the dumbest version of the trolley problem where the tracks are reversed. You could do nothing and people will die. Or you could pull the lever (convince a bunch of people not to vote for Harris) and a lot more people will die but, hey, at least you can say you did something.

    • tetris11@lemmy.ml
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      12
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      edit-2
      2 months ago

      In terms of a bipoloar two party system, you’re right, the other party will fuck them hard.

      In terms of swaying their main party to listen to their voters or risk losing an election, they did the right thing. You have to make a stand at some point to hold your representatives accountable.

      I used to think the best time to do this was once your party was in power, but through sheer osmosis of being on this instance, I’m now of the mind that once they’re in power they will have no reason to listen to you, so you might as well strike when their victory is uncertain.

      • grue@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        3
        arrow-down
        7
        ·
        2 months ago

        In terms of swaying their main party to listen to their voters or risk losing an election, they did the right thing. You have to make a stand at some point to hold your representatives accountable.

        Yeah, they do. You know when that point is? It’s during the motherfucking primary, not the general election!

        • Fidel_Cashflow@lemmy.ml
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          5
          arrow-down
          1
          ·
          2 months ago

          they did do that during the primary, and their concerns were ignored. now the chickens are coming home to roost! I truly hope the strategy of eagerly telling everyone to the left to the party to fuck off works out, but I’m not very confident tbh

          • grue@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            2
            arrow-down
            4
            ·
            edit-2
            2 months ago

            they did do that during the primary, and their concerns were ignored.

            That’s called “losing”.

            Now’s the time for those people to suck it up, put on their big kid pants, hold their noses, and not fucking help usher in a fascist dictatorship.

            • Cowbee [he/him]@lemmy.ml
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              3
              ·
              2 months ago

              The one bringing about the fascist dictatorship is the genocide enthusiast at the helm right now. Alienating voters by being a genocidal monster is on the genocidal monster.

            • Fidel_Cashflow@lemmy.ml
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              3
              arrow-down
              1
              ·
              2 months ago

              like I said, hope this strategy works out for you! I’m not confident it will, but I guess we will see.

    • Cowbee [he/him]@lemmy.ml
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      4
      ·
      2 months ago

      and a lot more people will die

      Biden is sending in US troops and air support, approved the invasion of Lebanon despite the DoD and Pentagon disapproving, and triggered the Iranian retaliation by lying about a ceasefire. Both the DNC and GOP are genocidal monsters, trying to pretend Trump would somehow be a lot worse than Biden already has been is nonsensical. Both are evil.

    • Cowbee [he/him]@lemmy.ml
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      3
      arrow-down
      2
      ·
      2 months ago

      Nope, they don’t want either and both have promised genocide. Do you stand for or against genocide?