News of success and triumph scored by several Muslim candidates in the US Tuesday’s elections continue to pour in, earning praises and celebrations.
“CAIR congratulates these newly-elected American Muslim mayors, city council and school board members for winning historic victories and exemplifying our community’s commitment to public service,” said Robert McCaw, Government Affairs Director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in a press release published on Wednesday.
“We hope that American Muslims whose policies reflect the justice-oriented values and principles of our community will continue making history across our nation.
“This is what America looks like, this is diversity in public service, and exemplifies the trust Americans are placing in Muslim candidates running for office.”
Many Muslims turned victorious in the elections that took place in more than 30 states across the country.
Success
US Election 2021: Three Muslim Mayors Make History in Detroit
CAIR congratulated the following American Muslims on their hard-fought and groundbreaking electoral victories:
- Tania Fernandes Anderson, first Cape Verdean American immigrant and American Muslim elected to the Boston City Council, Massachusetts.
- Etel Haxhiaj, first Albanian American refugee and American Muslim elected to the Worcester City Council, Massachusetts.
- Abdullah Hammoud, first Lebanese American Muslim elected mayor of Dearborn, Michigan.
- Amer Ghalib, first Yemeni American immigrant and American Muslim elected to mayor of Hamtramck, Michigan.
- Azrin Awal, first Bangladeshi American immigrant and American Muslim elected to the Duluth City Council, Minnesota.
- Shama Haider, first Pakistani American and American Muslim elected to the New Jersey State legislature
- Umar Muhammad, first Pakistani American and American Muslim elected to the Galloway Township Council, New Jersey
- Shahana Hanif, first Bangladeshi American and American Muslim women elected to the New York City Council, New York.
- Amira Muflahi, first Yemeni American and American Muslim woman to be elected to the Lackawanna City Council, New York.
- Dr. Mariam Mahmud, first Pakistani American and American Muslim elected to the Central Bucks School Board, Region 5, Bucks County, Pennsylvania (Note: Projected to win.)
- Taiba Sultana, first Pakistani American immigrant and American Muslim elected to the Easton City Council, Pennsylvania.
American Muslims made history in 2020 across the country, with a record number of them contesting and winning seats for first time.
In March, CAIR, Jetpac and MPower Change released a comprehensive report of all Muslim-identifying candidates who ran for public office in 2020 that found 181 Muslim candidates were on 2020 ballots across 28 states and Washington D.C., with 80 being elected to office.
The number is the highest since the three organizations started mapping the electoral progress of politicians who identify as Muslim.
CAIR and Jetpac plan to issue a follow up directory of elected Muslim officials later this year.