Donald Trump-backed Mehmet Oz’s Senate bid fails to supply enthusiasm seen with earlier Muslim firsts in US.
America could elect its highest-ranking Muslim official subsequent week – a Donald Trump-backed Republican who has questioned the legitimacy of the 2020 elections.
Mehmet Oz, a tv persona and retired surgeon of Turkish descent, is operating in Pennsylvania towards Democratic Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman in a race that would resolve the destiny of the US Senate for the subsequent two years.
Whereas many Muslim People have welcomed Oz’s candidacy, his run has didn't generate the joy earlier firsts spurred in Muslim-American communities. Oz is the primary Muslim main celebration nominee for the Senate.
“Insurance policies are extra essential for us right here than the rest. Identification is nice and fantastic, but when a candidate doesn’t align with our values and ideas, it doesn’t make sense for us to help any person like that,” mentioned Nagi Latefa, a Palestinian-American resident of Allentown, Pennsylvania, who promotes civic engagement in the neighborhood.
Oz, who describes himself as a “secular Muslim”, has solely mentioned his identification when requested.
And in contrast to Muslim Congresswomen Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar, for instance, he has not centred points that particularly enchantment to Muslim People in his marketing campaign, together with advocacy for Palestinian rights and combatting Islamophobia.
‘We don’t need Sharia regulation’
Furthermore, Oz’s affiliation with Trump and previous feedback disparaging “Sharia regulation” have drawn rebuke from Muslim-American activists.
Requested by Actual America’s Voice, a conservative media community, in Could whether or not he disagrees with former Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson that Islam is incompatible with the US Structure, Oz mentioned: “We don’t need Sharia regulation in America. I’m a secular Muslim.”
He continued: “I don’t need any of those non secular fanatics taking part in a task in American society, and I might work aggressively to dam them.”
Sharia is a code of Muslim ethics interpreted in another way between numerous Muslim teams.
After the 9/11 assaults in 2001, anti-Muslim activists began selling unfounded theories that Muslim immigrants need to impose Sharia regulation within the US – claims rights advocates say are pushed by Islamophobia with the intention of drumming up concern of Muslims.
The Southern Poverty Regulation Heart, which tracks hate teams, describes the anti-Sharia push as “far-right conspiracy theories”.
Ahmet Tekelioglu, govt director of Philadelphia’s department of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), mentioned Oz’s feedback mirror a misrepresentation of Sharia regulation that's “emblematic of an general political tradition in America” that perpetuates bias towards Muslims.
He mentioned some folks within the Muslim neighborhood are thrilled about Oz’s Muslim and Turkish background; some are sceptical about him due to his ties to right-wing populism, and others are wanting on the particulars and nuances in every candidate’s platform.
Oz’s marketing campaign didn't reply to Al Jazeera’s request for remark.
US Muslims
Muslims within the US account for about 1 % of the general inhabitants, based on a 2017 Pew Analysis Heart examine. They're one of the crucial various religion teams within the nation.
Whereas Muslim-American advocates usually stress their communities usually are not a monolith, Muslim voters have largely embraced the Democratic Occasion within the many years since 9/11 as Republican officers more and more engaged in anti-Muslim rhetoric and insurance policies.
Former President Donald Trump, who's anticipated to hunt the presidency once more in 2024, promised to bar all Muslims from coming into the US throughout his first presidential marketing campaign and, as president, imposed a journey ban on a number of Muslim-majority international locations.
On this election cycle in Pennsylvania, Oz is operating alongside a Republican nominee for governor who as soon as shared an article warning towards Muslims operating for workplace, which it described as a “harmful” development.
All 4 Muslims ever elected to Congress have been Democrats.
“Broadly talking, our communities general need to be heard extra. They need politicians to worth range, to not purchase right into a white Christian nationalist discourse. They need politicians to proceed to talk with them, not simply merely present up for photo-ops,” Tekelioglu mentioned.
Latefa, the Palestinian-American activist, mentioned whereas Muslim People really feel alienated from the nationwide Republican Occasion, many Muslim communities, together with in Allentown, have good relations with native GOP officers.
He mentioned he has been attempting for months to contact Oz’s marketing campaign to get the candidate to debate points with neighborhood members to no avail.
“I've personally made quite a few makes an attempt – utilizing all my reference to the Republicans in the area people and elected officers and activists – to have Dr Oz both come meet with the Muslim neighborhood leaders or come go to a mosque and tell us who he's, so we might look him within the eye and see the place he stands,” Latefa instructed Al Jazeera.
Oz’s coverage positions
On the massive points, Oz has largely adopted customary Republican insurance policies, together with vowing to cease “unlawful immigration” and backing state restrictions on abortion. He additionally has raised questions in regards to the validity of the 2020 vote as Trump continues to falsely declare the election was stolen.
Oz is a staunch Israel supporter, calling the nation a “expensive ally” and vowing to be its associate within the Senate. Latefa mentioned Oz’s stance on the Israeli-Palestinian battle is “irreconcilable with Muslim values” towards oppression.
Nonetheless, conservative activists have careworn the historic nature of Oz’s candidacy because the Republican Occasion nominated a document variety of various candidates this 12 months – and a few voters say Oz’s candidacy is a groundbreaking second for Muslim People.
Mehmet Birtek, a 44-year-old resident of Alburtis close to Allentown, mentioned he's thrilled to see somebody who shares his identify on the poll. “It feels nice. It’s superior. I’m very comfortable,” he instructed Al Jazeera.
Birtek is a former Democrat however mentioned he switched events as a result of Democratic Occasion officers more and more superior socially liberal insurance policies, particularly in public faculties.
Republicans have been pushing again towards discussions round sexuality and gender identification in faculties, discovering allies in some Muslim communities that are typically extra conservative on social points.
Birtek mentioned he hopes Oz can pave the best way for extra Muslims to hitch the Republican Occasion. “He'll make a giant distinction for the Muslim neighborhood, I imagine, within the Republican Occasion – and that is the beginning.”
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