The final stretch of the United States midterm elections has been shrouded in growing Islamophobia, centred most prominently on Muslim candidates, such as Michigan Democratic Senate hopeful Abdul El-Sayed.
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stretch → shroud → Sayed
This climate of prejudice may be presenting as a national issue, but it has been years in the making in Texas, where state politicians have pushed rhetoric and policies that Muslim voters say stigmatise their very existence.
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voters → present → existence
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attacks → keep → El
Even without a Muslim candidate on a statewide ballot, the election’s stakes, Muslim voters said, are extremely local.
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voters → say → ballot
“Honestly, I feel it most through my kids,” said Samir Nadjam, a lawyer from Houston, who attended a “Fall Fest” celebration at a local Islamic centre with his family just days before the November 3 vote.
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who → feel → vote
“As adults we can pick and choose who we associate with,” the 45-year-old said.
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old → pick → who
“But kids, they all go to school together and you’ll have certain families who watch certain news.
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who → go → news
And kids will say things, just off-putting things.”
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kids → say → things
Muslims account for less than two percent of Texas’s population, but community organisers hope a major increase in voter turnout could flex electoral muscle.
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increase → account → muscle
Regardless of party, many Muslim voters told Al Jazeera they wanted to send a message that they are not to be treated as anyone’s political boogeyman.
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they → tell → boogeyman
“Muslims are pushed out.
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Muslims → push → ?
They are discriminated [against] everywhere,” said Emran Gazi, the president of the Islamic Society of Greater Houston, which oversees more than 30 mosques in the sprawling metropolis.
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which → discriminate → metropolis
The society vastly expanded voter registration drives this year, with religious leaders pushing the message during Friday prayers.
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leaders → expand → prayers
The ISGH does not endorse specific candidates, Gazi said, but instead urges members to vote their conscience.
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Gazi → endorse → conscience
“We want to make sure the politicians and officials understand that Muslims need to be factored before they make any decision against Muslims,” he said.
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he → want → Muslims
Several voters said it was not hard to understand the grim rationale of “othering” another group for political gain.
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it → say → gain
But the verve with which the rhetoric and policy have escalated in the Republican-dominated state has been staggering.
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rhetoric → escalate → state
“Honestly, it’s been hell,” said Mariam Ahmed, a 42-year-old physician.
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Ahmed → say → ?
“It’s got to a point where, within the last two years, I contemplated leaving the US in general.”
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I → get → US
“I have a child.
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I → have → child
I don’t want him to be viewed as a terrorist,” added Ahmed.
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Ahmed → want → terrorist
“I’ve already had to deal with that.
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I → have → that
I don’t want that to happen to my kid.”
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that → want → kid
The messaging from Republican Governor Greg Abbott and the state Republican party has coalesced around the concept that ‘Sharia’ – an amorphous term for Islamic customs and practices, which some countries have codified into their governments – poses an imminent threat to the people of Texas.
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countries → coalesce → Texas
“We are not waiting on Washington, DC,” Abbott said at the Republican Midterm Convention in Dallas last month.
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Abbott → wait → Dallas
“We will fully ban Sharia Law in Texas.”
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We → ban → Texas
Senator Ted Cruz, speaking at the same event, echoed the sentiment, saying “Sharia law is fundamentally inconsistent with the Constitution and we need to stand together and stop it now.”
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we → speak → it
In June, the state Republican party adopted an official platform dubbed “Don’t Sharia my Texas”, vowing “criminal punishment; disqualification for public, military, and law enforcement service; denaturalisation; and deportment” for any of its proponents.
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party → adopt → proponents
Texas state legislators launched the “Sharia-free Texas Caucus” in March, which has since gained 38 members in the 150-seat chamber.
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which → launch → chamber
That came just months after two US Representatives from Texas, Chip Roy and Keith Self, launched the “Sharia-Free America Caucus” in Congress, which has grown to 68 members.
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which → come → members
Rights advocates and residents said the emphasis on Islamic law has been as baffling as it has been disconcerting.
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it → say → law
No jurisdiction in Texas, or the US for that matter, has enacted any form of Islamic law.
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jurisdiction → enact → law
“In real life, nobody’s hating on everyone as much as they’re making it seem to be,” said Sarah Dabbas, a 33-year-old physician who recently moved to Houston.
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who → hat → Houston
“And never in the history of the United States has anyone imposed anything like Muslim law on the government.”
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anyone → impose → government
“We can’t do that,” she added.
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she → do → that
“It’s just how we practice.”
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we → ’ → ?
Monitors say state officials have distorted a handful of unique cases, including investigating a company that sought to develop a Muslim-centred housing development in North Texas and groups that oversee voluntary Islamic arbitration, similar to practices in Christianity and Judaism.
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that → say → Christianity
The Bridge Initiative, a Georgetown University-based Islamophobia tracker, has said state politicians have increasingly pointed to “ordinary expressions of Muslim civic life” in arguing that Islamic law is encroaching.
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law → base → life
That includes “public participation, demographic growth … and involvement in community development,” the group wrote in a report published in February.
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group → include → February
“In effect, they frame Muslims’ engagement as active citizens, and at times their mere existence, as evidence of a broader threat.”
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they → frame → threat
…and 23 more, not listed.
The Aporia
