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Older Muslim-Americans – Are Not Democrats

Posted on Friday, September 13, 2024
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by AMAC, Robert B. Charles
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22 Comments
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Cooperation is one of those things. Years ago, my job as Colin Powell’s Assistant Secretary of State included going to Iraq, Afghanistan, Kosovo, and Jordan to train police. Lessons learned there, including how Christians and Muslims can cooperate when needed, are important for 2024.

Much ink has been spilled – largely by Democrat media – suggesting Muslim Americans, 4.45 million of our 335 million total citizens, are either unimportant, radical or reliably Democrat.

Democrats take for granted the Muslim-American community, from refugee Somalis, Iraqis, and Afghans to Pakistanis, Jordanians, Egyptians, Turks, Indonesians, and others.

Democrats imagine most Muslim-Americans model themselves on, or share the views of, radical House Democrats Rashid Talib (D-MI) and Ilhan Omar (D-MN). Talib is Palestinian-American and Omar Somali-American.

Both of these women are militant progressives, roughly Marxist, pro-socialized medicine, pro-abortion, pro-drug legalization, pro-illegal immigration, anti-Israeli, and face ethics inquiries tied to finances. Tlaib believes God is a “She,”  although unclear about God’s “pronouns.”

But here is the rub. These radical Marxist politicians – who align with Harris-Walz – are way off. Despite being at college protests, evincing anti-Semitic, anti-American views, they are the opposite of older, conservative, naturalized Muslim Americans. They are misfits, not typical.

Contrary to what many think, and what these two radical politicians suggest, most Muslim-Americans get along well with local Christians and share social views despite the religious divide. This is true in America, from Virginia, Maryland, New York, and New Jersey to Michigan and Maine.

Just like the wider world, on fire with sectarian wars, with Christians persecuted in more than 40 countries, Jews in double that number, Muslims face frequent persecution, not least in China. Ironically, the reasons for persecuting the three Abrahamic, monotheistic faiths are similar.   

Communist governments, China and Cuba to Laos, Venezuela, North Korea, and the former Soviet Union, see religion as a threat, no matter the faith. Moreover, just as Christians and Jews differ internally, so do Muslims, and Shi’a at odds with Sunnis, Kurds, Abadi, Sufism, Yazidi, and other strains.

Often missed – something I saw up-close in the Middle East, from Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt to Bahrain, UAE, and Kuwait, even in Jerusalem, then in the Neat East and Europe, Afghanistan, and Kosovo to Turkey – is how closely the values of these seriously different religions do often align.

Thus, when training tens of thousands of Iraqi police in Jordan in the 2000s, we housed every ethnic background, Yazidi, Kurd, Shi’a, Sunni, everyone in barn-sized buildings, hogan-type, no internal walls, just row on row of triple-stacked bunks, similar to US military procedure in the Green Zone.

Over the course of my time there, and well beyond, we had no ethnic or religious conflicts, none. We had cooperation in living areas, classrooms, training, firing, and driving ranges. We had peace.

At the time, I shook my head and marveled: In the warzone, they killed each other, but when making a living, protecting a shared future, and working together to secure families, everyone cooperated with all.

Now come back to 2024  America, back to this election. Here is an untold truth. I recently sat with various Muslim families in Maine, hard workers, and business owners, committed to their families, and to the way of life we love in Maine – and across America. They were proud of being Americans.

Epiphany: They were not Democrats. They do not like the modern Democrats, and will not vote for them. Despite serious religious differences, myself being a conservative Christian, these older Muslim-American families worry openly about the state of our society and want American values restored.

The demographic, unrecognized by pollsters, wants their kids to get a real education – math, writing, reading classics, strong language skills, not baloney activism – in the schools. These parents came to America, worked hard for their kids, want them to succeed. They love America.

These families and businessmen have had it with the Democrat values, redefining boys as girls, subjecting young women to loss of rights in public, downplaying the value of hard work, passing higher taxes, pushing inflation and undermining the American Dream, even mocking the Dream.

As I listened, I learned something I did not expect. Quietly spoken, I learned conservative values reside where you may not expect them, an appreciation for pluralism’s strength, the powerful nature of the American Dream, and how families and voters get taken for granted, should not be.

Just like in modern-day Jerusalem, Christians, Jews, and Muslims cooperate when they care about the same things, despite the rage of the world. Shared understanding is worth time, in election 2024 and beyond. We miss what we do not look for. Cooperation is one of those things.

Robert Charles is a former Assistant Secretary of State under Colin Powell, former Reagan and Bush 41 White House staffer, attorney, and naval intelligence officer (USNR). He wrote “Narcotics and Terrorism” (2003), “Eagles and Evergreens” (2018), and is National Spokesman for AMAC.

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Max
Max
24 days ago

RBC, great piece. Whether Christian, Jew or Muslim, many are family orientated and go all out to get along with neighbors despite their religious circumstances. Muslim children are taught in school to hate the Jews and Christians, those whose parents have been brainwashed enough, are the ones that tend to be hostile. Those few are enough to paint to society what Islam stand for — hatred towards the Jews and Christians. The biggest problem with society is there is only a halfhearted effort to correct the wrongs, therefore hatred continues. This unfortunately will continue to be the norm until Jesus returns to establish His Kingdom.
Have a good weekend.

anna hubert
anna hubert
24 days ago

The person itself, the individual will be a good friend, neighbor ,member of the community. The religion and it’s teaching he follows are the most hateful and poisonous one could imagine. And that is what directs the whole. Mention the reformation and your head is lopped off. Until that changes nothing will. They have one foot in 8 cent. the other in 21. Does not work that way.I don’t see any movement to try to change that.

Deb
Deb
24 days ago

Great! I hope they all get out to vote we need everyone’s help

Melinda
Melinda
24 days ago

We are not always aware of how people think, the radicals have big mouths and more media coverage.

Rob citizenship--
Rob citizenship--
24 days ago

This article should help ,in many ways, to bring about a better idea of how people should think about the differences that are part of reality ,part of what the world is , and always has been. The understanding and cooperation outlook is good, positive ,fair and promotes a solution to the misunderstandings and lack of cooperation between people with different beliefs. Your experience training police in the Middle East is certainly praiseworthy Robert. And it lends an insight to the understanding of the Muslim – American views. In 1980’s many Russian Jewish people came to the United States They were legal immigrants, and settled in large numbers in New York and Philadelphia. Being in Philadelphia at that time I helped a couple of them to speak English – they spoke English and Russian but needed some practice with speaking English ,so I reckon I did something good by doing that. Some people in my neighborhood did not like the idea that the majority of these Russian immigrants were Jewish and. that was something I found wrong ,it sort of gave me the incentive to help with the language skills practice. They were respectable, intelligent people of good character so I felt like I was. doing. something. right . As you mentioned Robert the powerful nature of the American Dream , surely is a great thing to keep in mind. The understanding and cooperation goal is something noble. Defending the freedom of this Nation has much to do with understanding and cooperation . The criminal element loose here in America ,due in large part to the incompetence of the Democrats , can be better dealt with in a way to reduce their numbers through strengthening relations with people who truly believe in the value of understanding and cooperation.

JPL
JPL
24 days ago

If they show even an ounce of sympathy towards Hamas or don’t recognize Israel or make any anti antisemitic statements I have no use for them no matter how they may vote.

Steve Greenwell
Steve Greenwell
24 days ago

Yazidi are not Muslim; they are Zoroastrian. As were the ancient Persians and the Parsees of India,

Jeri
Jeri
24 days ago

Perhaps they have come to realize what capitalism and freedom offers to human beings.

spitfire?
spitfire?
22 days ago

During my service with the RAF I served in Libya, Bahrein,South Yemen,Sharja,Saudi Arabia,Iran and Afghanistan.I agree with every word you wrote RBC.Bloody good show.

AK Jan
AK Jan
24 days ago

I always enjoy your articles and this one hit home for me. As an old woman I have had many experiences with many different people from all faiths and cultural backgrounds. My husband is a Gulf War Vet and doesn’t have much use for Muslims as his experiences showed him the dark side. I however went to Iraq as s civilian and found the opposite to be true. I found the “good” Muslims who supported our American goal and helped us in a variety of ways. Now, to be clear their lives were always in danger so anything in writing had to be in code, so they were assigned numbers and the names attached to those numbers were top secret. I have friends from all faiths, black, brown, white and whatever combination. I have known many great people who identify as the opposite sex or are in relationships with the same sex. My point is we are all human and made in Gods image.

Doug
Doug
24 days ago

Great article, but “myself” is only to be used Emphatically: “I, myself, did it!” or Reflexively — in a sentence almost always starting with “I”: “I did it myself.” Most folks use it incorrectly as you did.

Robert Zuccaro
Robert Zuccaro
24 days ago

One thing hit me in this article: If gender is being applied to God, I also believe “He” must be a “She” based on the fact that if God created everything and we were created in “His” image, which gender in nature creates life? Women! Hey, Democrats: those are the “birthing people” you refer to!

Joanne4 justic
Joanne4 justic
23 days ago

Older Muslim Americsns are intelligent ???? and they have the common sense to negate propaganda and lies!!! Kudos!!

Stilln School
Stilln School
23 days ago

Most of us myself included are completely ignorant when it comes to this we’ve only been told they hate us and are out to destroy our country. My question is why& Who stands to gain from toxicity?

Kyle Buy you some guns,and learn how to shoot
Kyle Buy you some guns,and learn how to shoot
24 days ago

All of them should bbeb shiped back to where they come from. Kyle L.

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