During the Ferguson Uprising of 2014 many national and international media figures came to St. Louis and I had the privilege of meeting quite a few of them. Granted, some were exploitative and shallow, but others came in with sharp eyes and a willingness to learn. I was interviewed on several national media outlets, gave tours to Al Jazeera reporters and others, and I made a sincere attempt to educate the public to the best of my ability as a native son of north St. Louis County.
Trymaine Lee of MSNBC is a reporter I met, was interviewed by, and I respected. WhatsApp is the social media app of choice for Muslims. Memes are shared, gossip flows, knowledge is dropped, and debates rage via WhatsApp groups. It's not uncommon for Muslims I know to belong to numerous groups. I'm on the light side and I'm only in a handful. More precisely, in a recent talk I attended, Mufti Hussain Kamani said WhatsApp is the app of choice for Muslims 40+ and TikTok and Instagram are preferred by younger Muslims. (I'm old but more hooked on TikTok than any other app).
Why do I bring up WhatsApp? A few days ago an article by Trymaine Lee was shared in a group I'm in. The article was from 2020 and discussed rapper and film director Ice Cube meeting with Donald Trump, the distance many Black men have between themselves and the Democratic Party, and why Democrats shouldn't take this lightly. People of an older or younger generation may sleep on the cultural significance of Ice Cube. My generation won't. A founding member of the pioneering and iconic rap group NWA, actor who played Doughboy in the defining film of our generation ( Boyz n The Hood), director of iconic films, and more. Cube was for me what Kurt Cobain may have been for some middle-class kids on college campuses.
The article is even more relevant today than it was in 2020. Kanye West has notoriously attracted an audience with his flirtations with MAGAland and the promotion of conspiracy theories, popular Black American podcaster Joe Budden recently platformed conservative media figure Candace Owens, and even Fat Joe is walking around in Trump Force Ones.
Today I learned of a St. Louis activist and Black man who was involved in Ferguson who is now a Republican. He joins a handful of those who were involved in Ferguson who've made that transition. The messaging of the modern Democratic Party and the progressive movement, dominated by college-educated and affluent coastal elites, is one that is often less than appealing to working-class men in particular (of all races). It's also one that may have difficulty finding an audience with those who are religious, raising children and dealing with difficult public school situations, small business owners, victims of crime, and others.
The bad news is this- while some segments of the Democratic Party and progressive movement does in fact seem to have a disdain for working-class men, families, people of faith, and non “workists”- the Republican Party has a far worse track record in most categories. You may find yourself jumping from the frying pan and into the MAGA oven.
Most of these feelings are rooted in angst. Many Americans, myself included, residing uncomfortably in an era dominated by the Cult of Trump on one side and the Cult of Woke on the other. There is also concern over emerging technologies. PayPal founder Peter Thiel recently stated that there are three future possibilities; AI Dictatorship, Green Authoritarianism, or Shariah Law. Within this scenario, the Shariah option is definitely preferable for a humane future.
The 20th Century showed us what the West is capable of without the ethical and moral restraints provided by Christianity and gave us Nazi Germany and the Soviet Empire. AI when designed and regulated by those of good character can be beneficial to humanity. When technology isn't guided and constrained by ethical parameters, then you have the recipe for a human catastrophe. Elon Musk and the Silicon Valley tech bro libertarian culture is most representative of this aspiration.
Green Authoritarianism is an aspiration of a pessimistic and Godless West who seek to use technology to emulate and expand upon some of the systems of control the Soviet Union had (minus the communism). The Squad, DSA, and Justice Dems, although they vary and have even more oddities, are most representative of these aspirations in the US. This is an inherently secular movement.
The reason it is so important for Muslims to refute deviants and extremists, and to purify our ranks from the corrosive influence of both right-wing influencers and the ideological and financial control of the White Left, is because the future is Muslim. With the collapse of Christianity as a dominant force in the West, and most Muslims adhering to a family-oriented tradition, not only will the Muslim community grow (even as many are lost), but we'll also continue to attract converts who are dissatisfied by the direction of society and see no other viable religions alternative. A plausible scenario is a Muslim community existing as one rooted in faith, family, and humanity as an island for dissenters to the excesses of AI, authoritarianism, and the Red-Green alliance.
Now we come to the Muslim vote in 2024. We have to first recognize there is no one singular Muslim vote. Racial, ethnic, theological, geographical, and class distinctions play a major role.
I've been polling Muslim friends. We can start with my theologically very conservative friends, some who lean heavily into conspiracy, who have never voted and will never vote. For them the only political system acceptable is one governed completely by Islamic law (which is basically nowhere in the world past or present). Then we can move to Black American Muslim friends. Especially older ones. There is still a strong attachment to the Democratic Party in this demographic and most have indicated to me they plan to vote for President Biden in November.
The vast majority of the American-Muslim community is made up of those who have immigrated to the US since the 1960s and their offspring. No one I have talked to from this majority background, as in not one person, plans to vote for Biden in November.
There was already a walkway before the war in Gaza started due to many Muslims, particularly men, being uncomfortable with issues of gender and sexuality promoted by Democrats that have made their way into the Muslim community. This segment was never voting for Biden, and this is perhaps half of the community, so it isn't like the war in Gaza has cost Biden these Muslim votes.
Another segment of the Muslim community, perhaps the most dominant, influential, educated, and affluent is steeped in the politics of The Left and The Squad. Never big fans of Biden, they positively despise him now due to both Gaza and the feeling he doesn't listen to Muslim voters. This demographic is primarily suburban, South Asian, and female (Arab in Michigan). On the activist level this can mean anything from the Left-Ikhwani Alliance to lukewarm liberals. This segment is overall rooted in the Muslim Identity and perhaps less attached to the practice of Islam. This is fine for the Democratic Party and progressive movement who can easily place them within a collation of identity groups once the cumbersome restrictions of religion is removed.
This segment has traditionally aspired to mainstream American acceptance and a place at the table amongst the American elite. For this reason, and more, many voted Republican prior to 9-11. The GOP was the Party of the elites and being socially conservative was a bonus. The modern progressive movement and DEI industry, led and comprised of the overly educated and affluent, has flipped the tables. Socially the Democratic Party is now a more comfortable fit. No more labor unions, truck drivers, and farmers to worry about.
This group not only is upset with Biden because they're Muslim; but because their wealth and privilege normally means people listen to their concerns. It's also the case of a culturally and politically influential community in the US, American Jews, declining in influence due to assimilation, intermarriage, low rates of birth, and DEI logic takfiring them. In ten years, there will be no question who is more influential in the Democratic Party and when the boomers die the ballgame will be over. Muslims will be far more influential, and this will mean a lot in the realm of foreign policy.
I hold a minority opinion in the Muslim community. I think the Abraham Accords are a good idea that can lead to peace and stability in the region where everyone can thrive and live free of war. I also believe the failure of the Arab Spring validated the wisdom of the ulama in calling against revolutions and political protests. I personally regret my involvement in most. I also believe that both under Islamic Law and a general sense of human decency the actions of 10-7 cannot be justified.
However, as a matter of aqeedah, I must concern myself with the suffering of both Palestinian Muslims and the condition of Al Aqsa and the present situation is unacceptable. To be sure, I believe that the rowdy and unproductive protests we see in support of Palestinians are being engineered by the White Left, communists, anarchists, Ikhwanis, Iranian regime supporters, and other deviants. But the sentiment is that of the Muslim majority, and the vast majority never attends a protest.
On many issues the individual and simple Muslim, of which I am, must go with the majority opinion. The social cohesion of the community is important. This is why I adhere to the Hanafi madhab as an example. It's the largest madhab with the most experience in the West and in any city, you can find those educated in the Hanafi Madhab. On this issue I must do the same.
Unlike what I did in 2020, I will not campaign for Biden or encourage other Muslims to vote for him in 2024. I will more than likely personally vote for Biden. Not because I buy into the social agenda of the left, or the foreign policy, but because I believe Donald Trump is a very dangerous man and a threat to the Republic.
In the meantime, I believe many of us have gotten off track. We have been consumed by politics, entertained by social media, influenced by the dominant culture, and led astray. InshaAllah we can all use this upcoming Ramadan to improve ourselves and the condition of our families. The beginning of such improvement is our relationship with Allah, our love of His Messenger (PBUH), and the practice of our deen. Seek taubah this Ramadan and hit the reset button.
Abdur Rahman ibn Awf reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Verily, Ramadan is a month in which Allah Almighty has obligated its fasting. I have instituted for Muslims the practice of prayer at night. Thus, whoever fasts it with faith and expecting reward will be rid of sins like the day he was born from his mother.”
(It is absolutely unacceptable that children are starving in Gaza and I am embarrassed for the whole situation)
That was a very sobering dispatch. However I read the Satmar duo too last year and it is not as if these people cannot find ways to get political power when it benefits their community and they are going to be more difficult to takfir than comfortable Reform Jews on Long Island. In 10 years Muslims may have more establishment political power because Jews understand that the embrace of whiteness/assimilation doesn't mean safety and will embrace harsh critiques of American culture from both the right and left.