The first national Muslim organization that declared itself “disengaged” with the president Joe Bidenthe reelection candidacy is endorsed by the vice president Kamala Harris‘candidacy.
Salima Suswell, founder and chief executive of the Black Muslim Leadership Council Fund, first shared the group’s decision with NBC News on Thursday.
“She has shown more sympathy for the people of Gaza than both President Biden and former President Donald Trump,” Suswell said of Harris. “During Prime Minister Netanyahu’s speech to Congress, she decided not to attend. She has repeatedly called for a ceasefire and I believe she has also expressed empathy for civilian life and has been very thoughtful when it comes to getting aid to the people of Gaza.”
The fund is the political action arm of the nonprofit Black Muslim Leadership Council. Both organizations were started in March hoping to pressure elected officials, including Biden, to call for a permanent ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war.
The group’s endorsement is significant given the backlash the Biden administration has faced from the Muslim community over its handling of the war. Many Muslim groups pushed for an effort they dubbed “abandon Biden,” which called on voters not to support him at the polls in uncompetitive primaries and potentially fall elections.
Since Biden’s decision to drop his re-election bid, some other Muslim groups have said they remain uncommitted to Harris’ candidacy, while asserting that she has an opportunity to win their support by differentiating herself from Biden on policy towards the Middle East.
In March, Suswell made it clear that many of his group members were focused on US internal challenges and did not support Biden’s departure. “Right now, I have not abandoned Biden,” she said at the time. “But I’m not committed.”
In the same month, Harris made headlines In a speech commemorating Bloody Sunday in Selma, Alabama, where he called for a six-week ceasefire and described the situation in Gaza as a “humanitarian catastrophe.”
“Given the immense scale of suffering in Gaza, there must be an immediate ceasefire – at least for the next six weeks, which is what is currently on the table,” Harris said. “This will get the hostages out and bring a significant amount of aid.”
Then, last week, just days after launching her presidential campaign, Harris met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House after he had spoken with Biden. After the meeting, she said that Israel had its “unwavering commitment” and “right to defend itself”, while also drawing attention to the plight of the Palestinian people.
“What has happened in Gaza over the past nine months is devastating – the images of dead children and desperate, hungry people fleeing for safety, sometimes displaced for a second, third or fourth time,” she said. “We cannot look away from these tragedies. We cannot allow ourselves to become insensitive to suffering. And I will not be silent.”
Harris also spoke about her message to Netanyahu. “I just told Prime Minister Netanyahu it’s time to get this deal done,” Harris said. “It is time for this war to end and end in a way in which Israel is safe, all hostages are freed, the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza ends and the Palestinian people can exercise their right to freedom, dignity and self-determination.”
For Suswell and leaders of the Black Muslim Leadership Council Fund, the remarks underscored the need to speak out and support Harris. The group plans to launch voter turnout efforts in battleground states such as Wisconsin, Michigan, Georgia and Pennsylvania.
However, Suswell acknowledges that Harris is still part of the Biden administration and has publicly supported Biden’s policy positions on the war. She also said that she was one of the a group of Muslim leaders who met with Biden and Harris at the White House during a tense meeting, a leader left a few minutes into the meeting.
“It was not an easy meeting for the president,” Suswell said. “We were very hard on him. We were committed to expressing the needs of our community, as well as what we hoped for in terms of justice for the people of Gaza. I mean, we want, as a community, to see this war come to an end. So many lives were lost. It is time for the war to end and for the safe return of the hostages.”
Pressed on whether she saw a big political difference between Harris and Biden, Suswell said: “I’m not going to speculate that there’s a huge difference. … She has also been more empathetic when it comes to civilian life. I think she’s more open to talking about ending the war.”
Suswell added that his group was also led to publicly support Harris because of her stances on domestic issues. “Economic opportunity, equal pay, jobs, health care, education, public safety and policing, criminal justice reform, all of these things are important to the American Muslim community, too, specifically to Black Muslim Americans,” she said. “Vice President Harris has been strong and a leader on these issues.”
Additionally, Suswell said she and other leaders of the group were concerned about former President Donald Trump’s possible actions against Muslim people and Americans as a whole if he returned to the White House.
“I think this election comes down to the decision between an authoritarian regime and a democratic government,” she said. “During the first debate, [Trump] Said Israel should finish the job [in Gaza]. This is very, very worrying.”
She continued: “He also committed to reinstating the Muslim travel ban. He also declared that he would deport pro-Palestine protesters, specifically on college campuses. into consideration as we assess the future of democracy and justice and our fundamental freedoms.”
“Now, Vice President Harris and I do not agree with all of your positions regarding the crisis in Palestine,” Suswell said. “However, I believe she is more empathetic.”
This article was originally published in NBCNews. with
