LANSING, MI – From more than one-thousand miles away, a Democratic representative in Michigan wants to tell Muslim voters in Georgia how to cast their ballots in the state’s runoff elections.
Over the weekend, Representative Rashida Tlaib reportedly claimed that, for Muslim voters, it is an opportunity from Allah to show their “power” during Georgia’s Senate runoff elections set for January.
Media outlet CNS News reports that Tlaib’s comments occurred during an online “vote-a-thon.”
WATCH LIVE NOW: #Georgia Muslim Virtual Vote-A-Thon to Feature Reps. @Ilhan Omar, @RashidaTlaib and National Leadershttps://t.co/yxfg8HuIoU@lsarsour @NihadAwad #Election2020 #Election
— CAIR National (@CAIRNational) December 14, 2020
The event was co-hosted by the Georgia chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and the Georgia Muslim Voter Project.
CAIR National promoted it on social media ahead of time, tweeting:
“On Sunday, @GAMVP and @CAIR_GA hosted an online event on Muslim voter engagement, bringing together elected officials and religious leaders to talk about the importance of the Senate race.”
On Sunday, @GAMVP and @CAIR_GA hosted an online event on Muslim voter engagement, bringing together elected officials and religious leaders to talk about the importance of the Senate race.https://t.co/rORQC50xQq@MiddleEastEye @umaribnfarooq @EdAhmedMitchell #ElectoralCollegeDay
— CAIR National (@CAIRNational) December 14, 2020
According to CNS News, Tlaib said to those who attended:
“I hope that you realize just the opportunity here that Allah has given us to show the power of Muslims in Georgia. I want people to be like, oh my God, I didn’t even know Muslims are in Georgia. Exactly! Because we’re going to show them in droves of numbers.”
She allegedly continued on to say:
“I want to, mash’allah [what Allah has willed] be able to say, ‘Look at the voting in these precincts and guess what? It was the Muslim vote that delivered Georgia.’”
For weeks now, all eyes have been on Georgia voters as both Republicans and Democrats fight to win the two seats up for grabs that would give either a majority in the legislature.
However, Sunday’s “vote-a-thon” was specifically targeted at Muslim voters.
The state is home to more than 150,000 Muslim residents. According to the Association of Religious Data Archives, of Georgia’s Muslim population, 71,000 are reportedly registered to vote.
An article, written by Middle East Eye about the event, and retweeted by CAIR National, reports that CAIR-Georgia’s executive director, Abdullah Jaber, equated the political race with issues like Islamophobia, healthcare, police reform and systemic racism.
MEE quoted Jaber as saying:
“In this runoff, Georgia Muslim voters not only have the power to select two senators but to move our nation in the right direction. This is exactly why we are urging Georgia Muslim voters to come out in record-breaking numbers as they did in the general elections.”
Tlaib was not the only left-leaning female politician involved in the “vote-a-thon.” Her Capitol Hill colleague and close friend, Representative Ilhan Omar, also took part.
According to CNS News, the Democrat from Minnesota suggested that the Muslim population in Georgia would be “a big part of making the right decision.”
The media outlet quotes Omar as saying:
“I do hope that when the election is decided on January 5th, and people are able to analyze who came out and voted, we will hear that the Muslims in Georgia were a big part of making the right decision in this historic election.”
The runoff elections are set for January. The heated races are between U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-GA) and Democratic candidate Reverend Raphael Warnock, and between U.S. Sen. David Perdue (R-GA) and Democratic contender Jon Ossoff.
Sunday’s “vote-a-thon” event and the purported attempt to influence Georgia’s voters has drawn some serious heat on social media in the days since.
National Review reporter Ryan Mills tweeted:
“Two members of congress and a national activist with a history of making anti-Semitic remarks and supporting anti-Israel policies are jumping in to help Georgia Dems get out the vote for @ReverendWarnock and @ossoff.”
Two members of congress and a national activist with a history of making anti-Semitic remarks and supporting anti-Israel policies are jumping in to help Georgia Dems get out the vote for @ReverendWarnock and @ossoff. @NROhttps://t.co/bOLqm6dtuY
— Ryan Mills (@RyanAMills77) December 15, 2020
Another Twitter user who goes by “LibertyBella9” posted:
“So, CAIR wants to try and sway the outcome of the Georgia runoff? I’m thinking a lot of good folks in Georgia are not going to like more anti-American interference.”
So, CAIR wants to try and sway the outcome of the Georgia runoff?
I’m thinking a lot of good folks in Georgia are not going to like more anti-American interference 🤨👇 pic.twitter.com/HI9Hnfzdsh
— FreeBird 🦉resistance (@LibertyBella9) December 14, 2020
‘Squad’ member Tlaib says Dems try too hard to appeal to white voters, says ‘I can’t be silenced’
November 12, 2020
WASHINGTON, DC – Democratic Michigan State Representative Rashida Tlaib is upset that some Democrats have blamed the Progressive movement for failing to see the “Blue Wave” that was predicted.
Now, she is vowing that she will not be silent.
For months, Americans were told to expect a “Blue Wave” as a result of the election. Members of the media and the Democratic party held onto the hope that a large number of Republican representatives would be voted out of office.
This did not happen as predicted.
Democratic leaders have had to look internally to understand why they were not favored as much as they thought Americans favored them. Some blame Republican ads that have painted members of their party as ultra-liberal and against the police as the culprit.
Others blame the Progressive movement as the cause for the discrepancy.
During a conference call in which Democratic leaders discussed the issue, blame was focused on the overwhelming support for the Black Lives Matter movement and the push to defund police departments.
Something that Tlaib says is wrong.
Tlaib places blame on fellow Democrats who only want to appeal to white voters. Tlaib said that she will not be silent in her beliefs, even if that means losing voters.
Progressive groups allege that Democrats are playing into what they refer to as “divide-and-conquer racism.”
In a memo that was obtained by Politico, they said:
“As we speak, Congressional Democrats are debating why they underperformed and some have been quick to blame progressives.
There is no denying Republicans levied salient rhetorical attacks against Democrats, but these will continue to happen as they do every cycle.
“We cannot let Republican narratives drive our party away from Democrats’ core base of support: young people, black, brown, working class, and social movements who are the present and future of the party…
“Despite an obvious preference by Democratic leadership to focus on the suburbs and former Republican votes rather than working-class communities of color, progressives like Stacey Abrams, Rep. Omar and Rep. Rashida Tlaib are showing us – through turnout results in their states and cities – where Democrats must invest to build the party…
“The lesson to be learned from this election cannot and should not be to lean into racist resentment politics, or back away from the social movements that pushed Democrats to power.
If Democrats cower from the national conversation sparked by the Black Lives Matter movement, then the only ones left owning this space will be the GOP.”
Tlaib also echoed this sentiment when she said:
“We’re not going to be successful if we’re silencing districts like mine. Me not being able to speak on behalf of many of my neighbors right now, many of which are black neighbors, means me being silenced. I can’t be silenced.
“We are not interested in unity that asks people to sacrifice their freedom and their rights any longer. And if we truly want to unify our country, we have to really respect every single voice.
“We say that so willingly when we talk about Trump supporters, but we don’t say that willingly for my black and brown neighbors and from LGBTQ neighbors or marginalized people.”
—
Want to make sure you never miss a story from Law Enforcement Today? With so much “stuff” happening in the world on social media, it’s easy for things to get lost.
