Muslim group endorses Harris despite opposition to her Gaza policy

One of the nation’s largest Muslim political groups endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday despite fierce opposition to her Middle East policy, saying that stopping former President Donald Trump is paramount.

“We feel it’s our obligation to speak truthfully to our communities as they grapple with perhaps the most difficult electoral choice they’ve ever had to make,” Wa’el Alzayat, the CEO of Emgage Action, told NBC News. “We are very clear-eyed and honest that the Vice President still has a ways to go, but we feel there’s a fighting chance to move her on those issues and prevent the very real threat of a Donald Trump presidency.”

Like other Muslim-American groups, Emgage Action, which aims to turn out Muslim voters and build the community’s power, has often sided with Democrats in the past, especially in the Trump era when his rhetoric and immigration policies often targeted Muslims and Islamic countries.

But President Joe Biden’s support for Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza, which is now expanding into Southern Lebanon, has turned many Muslim and Arab voters against Democrats, endangering the party’s prospects with these communities as polls show widespread disenchantment and strong support for anti-war third party candidates like the Green Party’s Jill Stein and independent Cornel West.

Last week, a coalition of other Muslim-American groups calling itself the American Muslim 2024 Election Task Force snubbed Harris by urging American Muslims to vote for “any presidential candidate of their choosing who supports a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and a US arms embargo on the Israeli government, such as candidates Dr. Jill Stein, Dr. Cornel West or [Libertarian Party nominee] Chase Oliver.”

Trump’s campaign, meanwhile,