Mehmet Oz, a Republican who would have been elected as the nation’s first Muslim senator, lost, but the record-breaking number of Muslims who were elected is still a victory. In Pennsylvania, Oz lost his seat.
Red states like Virginia, Georgia, and Texas hosted the majority of the Muslim victories. There are 20 re-elected Muslim MPs and 17 fresh faces on the list. Popular Muslim politicians like Rashida Tlaib and Congresswoman Ilhan Omar remained in office.
From local school boards and city councils to the US House of Representatives, seats were won.
When 71 Muslims had been elected to office in 2020, CAIR began keeping track of the election victories of Muslims. With the most electoral victories ever in American history, 2022 smashed the record.
The nation was undergoing a “political change,” according to Nihad Awad, executive director of CAIR National.
“Yesterday’s historic series of record-breaking American Muslim electoral victories is a monument to our community’s continued ascent in American politics and the trust our neighbours have placed in us to represent them and fight for their interests,” said a representative of the community.
Awad continued by saying that for the long-marginalized American Muslim community, this was the “next step.”
There were a few historical firsts as well. In other places, Muslim state legislators were elected for the first time. With Georgia having the second-highest percentage of Muslim state lawmakers in the nation, Nabilah Islam was chosen as the state’s first Muslim woman for the state senate and house.
The 23-year-old Nabeela Syed announced the development on social media. She is now the youngest member of the Illinois General Assembly.
Given that many Muslims in the US are victims of hate crimes and frequent discrimination, the victory gives them some cause for optimism. According to a study by The Muslim Community Network, 32% of Asian Muslims and 26% of Black Muslims in New York City alone faced hate crimes in 2022.
