Rashida Tlaib for US Congress
By Ras H. Siddiqui
Sacramento, CA: This writer received a message from a friend about a unique fundraising event being held in the Sacramento area to assist Rashida Tlaib in her bid to become the first American woman from a Palestinian and Muslim background to get elected to the Congress of the United States.
The friend also mentioned that Congressman Keith Ellison from Minnesota had spoken highly of her and that she had a good chance of winning. Besides, while doing some additional research it was nice to learn that she had been endorsed as a Bernie Democrat.
It should be noted that the left-leaning Bernie Sanders component of the Democratic Party does not support a candidate unless it finds some merit in his or her track record of assisting the common voter. And in America, people from a Jewish background like Senator Sanders supporting a Muslim Palestinian candidate should be noted as a significant positive.
Rashida (https://rashidaforcongress.com/ ) is running as a Democrat for the US Congress from Michigan’s 13th District. The seat was vacated by long-time Congressman John Conyers last December due to claims of harassment which surfaced against him. His son and nephew are reported to be amongst Rashida’s many opponents in a heavily African-American district. But Tlaib herself is no novice in the local political arena as she has already served in the Michigan State Assembly for six years before terming out. She has a long track record of community service and for standing up for the little guy against powerful individuals and corporate interests.
She is the oldest of 14 children from a family of Palestinian origin, but is essentially an American woman, a native of Detroit who has not forgotten her family roots. And if one can note that this fundraiser in Sacramento also had a “family” feel to it throughout, as Arab-Americans and other groups showed their support for her.
Before focusing exclusively on candidate Rashida it would not be fair to continue here without mentioning the other speakers at this event. NabeelAbboushi made the introductory remarks. One of the Sacramento area’s prominent lawyers Bashar Ahmad did a fine job as emcee, and our very own CAIR Executive Director BasimElkarra spoke eloquently about the need for us to get involved in the social and political aspects of American life. And a powerful presentation by activist FatinaAbdrabboh also from Michigan almost had us on our feet. And after a short religious and poetic presentation by two young girls, educator SamiaShoman shared her unique thoughts about family, and growing up in this region. Due to space constraints we cannot go into the details of all their fine deliveries here, but the presence of such articulate individuals within the Palestinian and Arab Diaspora should give the community hope.
Rashida, the future Congresswoman (we hope) has quite a stage presence and was very passionate in her speech delivery. One can pretty much assume that she was at ease since the audience was like family to her. She spoke in English and added some points in Arabic to the delight of the people present. A video of a past event where she had a great deal to say at a (then Candidate) Donald Trump rally in Michigan was shown where she yelled out “Read the Constitution” to him and was subsequently ejected. She is certainly not someone who elects to stay silent. She added that she was even admired by some because of the manner in which she was removed from that event.
Tlaib next spoke about her immigrant family from which she has derived her strength, her mother and late father (especially) in a manner which moved some in the audience to tears. She promised her mother that she would bring her kids and be State Representative, and she did both! She said that she nursed her baby at the Michigan house floor and that her constituents (of all religions and races) were like her family to her. She added that being the oldest one of 14 kids in her parents household had prepared her for community service. “I have dealt with everything that you can think of.” She spoke of humanizing the environment, reaching out to people, and sending out a universal message of commonness so that when people think of us (as a minority) they will come to defend us when unnecessary things like “Anti-Shariah Law” bills come up (Side note: Exactly how many Muslim countries have such laws in place?).
She spoke of her prominently African-American district and how much that community supported her to victory and that she was there for the community when they needed her and that is the real reason why they reciprocated (e.g. she helped save someone’s home). Her campaign style includes door-knocking and she is not shy about visiting neighborhoods. “The important thing is that they know my work,” she said. “I want to do it the right way and I want to win,” she added. Rashida said that she valued support from “People for Bernie” and other endorsements.
But since campaigns cannot be run without resources, her target is to have around $600,000 by March 31st to launch herself (one of the main reasons why she is out fundraising). And it should not come as a major surprise that to help her reach that goal Sacramento beat the amount she has raised in other much larger cities. She also shared her family experiences and added some great anecdotes from her mother and other family members. She mentioned that she could relate to the African-American experience because of what Palestinians have experienced. “That strength is what we have.” She also spoke about what Syrian kids are currently going through, like a six-year-old girl born in a refugee camp could be our daughter. She ended her speech by thanking a number of individuals and all the people present for their support.
To conclude, Rashida Tlaib already has a long track record of political and community service. She has accomplished it by reaching out to everyone irrespective of their ethnic, religious or racial background. In Sacramento, locals and guests from as far as the bay area attended this event and were generous because she deserves our support. The primary reason why Pakistan Link was invited to cover this story was to get the word out to a wider audience way beyond this one event. This writer can recall another candidate (an African-American) a few years ago from the bay area reiterating the need for minorities in this country to have a voice in Washington. She said that if you are not seated at the (political) table, you are either serving those already sitting there or you are on the menu. Rashida’s quest reminds us to revisit that observation. Please reach out to her campaign and contribute if you can before March 31st via her websitehttps://rashidaforcongress.com/.
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