The Muslim Candidates - The Magnificent Seven
By Tahir Ali
Photos by Imtiaz Javed & Dr Shujaat Ali
Shrewsbury: Thomas Phillip "Tip" O'Neill Jr., who served as the 47th Speaker of the US House of Representatives from 1977 to 1987, believed in 'All politics is local'. Rashid Shaikh, Shrewsbury town member put those words in action. He convinced some members of the Muslim community to avail the opportunity of becoming Town meeting members because this year there are 7 less candidates than required, hence it will be a write-in candidate.
"Upon my humble request some of our group members have agreed to come forward for these open seats. They need to write in each name on the right slot of the ballot paper," Shaikh said.
The 7 members who stepped up to the plate, and ran the write-in campaign in the precinct that they each belonged to, are: Shahida Balaparya, Atif Rao, Bushra Khalid, Nacereddin Hmaidi, Dr Saud Javed, Dr Khalid Sadozai and Dr Zahra Sheikh.
For Rashid Shaikh it was truly a proud moment. He was the one who mobilized the candidates and now was witnessing his due diligence taking a positive turn. He threw a victory party for the participating candidates and introduced some of the community activists to them.
Shahida Balaparya said that at first she had no idea of what she was stepping into but "now I feel better. I am looking forward to be part of the Town committee, to be a part of the important decisions that the committee makes for the town of Shrewsbury." She recalled how her campaign worked. "I went knocking door to door in my block. I was received with great enthusiasm and basically told them that I will be your voice in the block."
Atif Rao said, "It is a happy moment for me, for my family and and for my community who supported and guided me. I believe we will be able to make a difference for the betterment of the town."
Rashid Shaikh added, "We each are a one voice, but collectively we are a voice of thousands."
Bushra Khalid acknowledged this fact and promised to be a productive member, "I will learn what the scope of my task is and I am sure our work is cut out for us. Now I have the added responsibility to deliver what I talked about. This will be an exercise of learning the ropes and become a productive part of the legislation."
All the candidates thanked Rashid Shaikh for his encouragement and guidance.
The three winners felt jubilant: "We feel like the farmers who celebrate a boom harvest. They feel in a jubilant mood after seeing the fruits of their hard labor. "
Yes, you reap what you sow.
As Chris (Yul Brynner) and Vin (Steve McQueen), two of the three survivors of the Magnificent Seven rode toward the sunset, Chris said, "The old man was right. Only the farmers won."
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