Image source: Reuters
Two years ago, Arab and Muslim voters in the American city of Dearborn helped the then Republican presidential candidate, Donald Trump, achieve a remarkable electoral victory, after they felt that the Democrats had failed them with their position regarding the war in the Gaza Strip. Today, some of these voters find themselves facing an election campaign whose rhetoric they describe as targeting their identity and religion. Do they regret their choices? Do their votes go back to the Democrats?
Along Warren Street in Dearborn, Michigan, shops with Arabic names and restaurants serving dishes from across the Middle East are juxtaposed with election signs reminding residents that they are at the polls again.
Here, you do not need to go far from the main street to hear the Arabic language, or see aspects of a culture carried by generations of immigrants to the United States.
As the midterm elections for the US Congress approach, attention is returning to this city, which has become a symbol of the Arab-American presence.
The state of Michigan is witnessing one of the most prominent electoral races for Senate seats, between the Democratic candidate Abdel Rahman El-Sayed, an American doctor of Egyptian descent, and his Republican competitor Mike Rogers, a former congressman.
The competition between them is important beyond state borders, as its outcome may contribute to determining the party that will control the Senate. Democrats need to make a net gain of four seats to regain the majority from Republicans.
Al-Sayed's candidacy adds another dimension to the race, as he may become the first Muslim to hold a seat in the US Senate.
Therefore, Dearborn is back in the political spotlight, two years after presidential elections in which its voters made a remarkable shift.
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In the 2024 elections, Donald Trump obtained about 42 percent of the city's votes, ahead of his Democratic rival Kamala Harris, who obtained about 36 percent, in a city that had voted with a large majority for Joe Biden in the 2020 elections.
That shift was not the result of a mass move to the Republican Party. While some voters chose Trump, others abstained from voting for any of the main candidates, or turned to candidates from outside the two parties, in protest against the Biden administration's support for Israel during the war in Gaza.
Today, those voters are returning to the polls, amid anger from Republicans and a confidence that Democrats have not fully regained.
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“I am a Republican, and I was the one who organized the mobilization of Arab votes for Donald Trump in 2024.”
This is what Mike Hashem, an American Muslim of Lebanese descent, who belongs to the third generation of his family in the United States, says.
Hashem wasn't just a pro-Trump voter. He participated in organizing political efforts that aimed to win Arab and Muslim votes in favor of the Republican candidate, and he worked on a political action committee that spent money to support him in the region.
He hoped that the Trump administration would restore economic prosperity, lower the cost of living, and keep its promises not to engage in new wars.
But today he speaks in a different tone.
“We thought we would live in the golden age of America. But today we are not living in a golden age, but rather a dark age.”
His disappointment is not limited to the economy and foreign policy, but extends to the rhetoric used by some prominent Republicans towards Muslims.
As the election campaign in Michigan escalated, Trump intensified his attacks on Abdul Rahman Al-Sayyid, describing him as a “jihadist” and accusing him of belonging to the Muslim Brotherhood, accusations that the Democratic candidate denies, and the president did not provide evidence proving his affiliation with it.
Republicans say that their criticism is related to Al-Sayyed's positions and political relationships, not his religion.
But Hashem does not accept the way his community is being talked about.
“When the Republicans came here in 2024, we welcomed them and gave them our votes. Now they have turned against us, and are talking about Islamic law and deporting Muslims.”
Then he denounced: “We voted for you and supported you. Is this the way you treat us?”
Despite his anger, Hashem does not intend to abandon the Republican Party. He says that he will not allow "a few racists to hijack the party" in whose principles he believes.
As for his decision on which candidate to vote for in the Senate elections, he still keeps it to himself.
Promises to end wars have not been fulfilled
Unlike Hashim, Shadi Maori, a 25-year-old community activist, has decided on his electoral position.
Shadi grew up in Dearborn, where his family settled after his father immigrated from Yemen and his mother from Morocco.
He did not vote for Trump in the 2020 elections, but he changed his position four years later, motivated by the Republican president’s promise to end wars and achieve peace in the Middle East, so he decided to take a risk and vote for him, as he told us.
But when he is asked today whether he got what he wanted from that vote, his response is decisive: “No.” He explains: “Trump promised one thing and did the exact opposite. He brought us into another endless war in Iran.”
Shadi says that he will not support candidates supported by Trump, and that he will vote for Abdel Rahman Al-Sayed. However, he does not consider himself committed to always voting Democratic. “When I go to the polls, I look at the candidate and his positions, not the party he belongs to.”
From South Lebanon to store shelves in Dearborn
Inside one of the Arab stores in the region, the connection between what is happening in the Middle East and daily life in Michigan becomes clearer.
Issam Qusan, one of the founders of Al-Mustafa Markets, arrived in the United States from the town of Aitaroun in southern Lebanon.
Today, he and his partners run a chain of stores with five branches in Michigan.
To him, Dearborn is more than just a place to work.
"Dearborn is our second homeland for us Arabs. We do not feel alienated there. Everything is available here, from Arabic shops to social and religious institutions. A person feels as if he is in his homeland."
Issam voted for Trump in the last presidential election, convinced by his promises about ending the wars in Gaza and Lebanon.
But he says what happened was the opposite of what he expected.
“We promised to end the war in Gaza, but Gaza was destroyed. We promised to end the war in southern Lebanon, but southern Lebanon was also destroyed.”
The repercussions of wars do not stop at the borders of the region from which he came.
He imports goods for his stores from the Middle East, and says that customs duties, high fuel prices, and shipping costs have increased the burden on his business.
For him, economics and foreign policy have become two sides of the same issue. He wonders why American money is spent on wars abroad, while citizens suffer from the high costs of life?
He says that this time he decided to support Abdul Rahman Al-Sayed, who he believes is more concerned with community issues, jobs, health care, and small businesses.
“My name is Muhammad.. and my brother’s name is Muhammad Muhammad.”
But war and the cost of living aren't the only concerns Dearborn residents have as the election approaches.
Dana Muhammad, a young Palestinian-American woman whose family origins go back to Gaza, was born and raised in the Dearborn Heights area, and is running for membership in the committee tasked with reviewing the city charter.
Her family lived through the refugee experience after leaving the Palestinian territories, and she still has relatives in the Gaza Strip.
Her connection to her land was a key factor in her decision to leave the presidential slot empty in the 2024 elections.
Today, with the escalation of Republican attacks on Abd al-Rahman al-Sayyid, she found herself faced with a topic that affects her personal identity. Trump referred to Al-Sayyid as “Muhammad,” in statements that his critics considered a mockery of his name. Dana laughs as she talks about it. “My last name is Muhammad, right? I thought it was funny that he would make fun of such a common name.”
She adds: "My brother's name is Muhammad Muhammad."
But she fears that Muslim children will hear this speech and feel ashamed of their names or be hesitant about participating in public life.
She says her family raised her the exact opposite.
“Your voice matters, and your participation matters. They are relying on this rhetoric to intimidate you, and it is important that we do not allow it to succeed.”
Dana, who is running in local elections herself, believes that the response to this is more political participation, not withdrawal from it.
“I feel like I have to constantly look back”
This concern is shared by Suhaila Amin, an activist and community organizer who was born and raised in Dearborn, and lived for a period in Lebanon before returning to Michigan.
Suhaila participated in the “Non-Committed” movement, which sought to pressure the Democratic Party over its position on the war in Gaza.
In the 2024 elections, she chose an independent candidate instead of Trump or Harris, and does not regret her decision.
But the current Republican rhetoric raises concerns of a different kind in her.
“As a woman who appears to be Muslim, this kind of rhetoric is very inflammatory, and causes a lot of stress and discomfort for people like me,” Suhaila says.
She adds that it makes her feel like she has to constantly look behind her, “or think about what I might do if I had to protect myself.”
Suhaila says her biggest concern is for the younger generation who may feel forced to change their name, or hide part of their identity to avoid harassment. She points out that these fears among the Arab and Muslim community are not new, recalling the similar atmosphere they experienced during their work in the political and human rights field in the period following the September 11 attacks.
But it also points to a change on the part of some Americans who have become more willing to learn about the Arab and Muslim community, instead of being satisfied with what they hear in political speeches.
Will voters return to the Democrats?
Despite criticism from Republicans, Abdel Rahman El-Sayed's support does not necessarily mean that the Democratic Party has regained the trust of these voters.
Jacqueline Zidane, an American Christian of Arab descent who has lived in the city since 1992, decided to stay away from the Democrats after the outbreak of war in Gaza. In the 2024 elections, the presidential slot was left empty, despite her participation in voting for the rest of the positions.
Today, she supports Al-Sayyid, but she is careful to distinguish between supporting a specific candidate and returning to supporting his party. “We must continue to hold both parties accountable until they respond to what we want from them.”
She explains that she looks at the candidate's record and ability to achieve actual change, more than his party or religious affiliation.
"I don't see him as a Muslim. I see him as an American individual who was born in this country, running for political office, and has a clear vision of what he wants to do."
Support for Abdul Rahman Al-Sayyed...and confidence that his party did not regain
It became clear from our conversations with many of those we met in Dearborn that they distinguish between their support for Abdul Rahman Al-Sayyid and their positions on the Democratic Party. For them, supporting the Sayyed is a support for his person and his positions, and not an open mandate for his party.
As the voting date approaches, it seems that the Republican and Democratic parties must search for a different methodology to gain the trust of voters who are no longer willing to give them their votes without accountability.
Political calculations are not the only dilemma in choosing which party. Compromising their religious and ethnic identity has become one of the issues that some politicians have introduced into their election campaigns, so we asked a number of Muslim Americans we met about their opinion when they hear their country’s leaders talking about their religion and identity in this way?
For Suhaila, the answer is not related to the elections alone, but rather to the meaning of belonging to a country that has never known another homeland.
“America is my homeland. This is where I was born and raised. This is the only country I know where my roots lie, and we are an integral part of the fabric of this nation.” Then she adds firmly: "I'm here. I'm staying here. I'm not going anywhere."
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