US Muslim voters vital to election outcome: Khizr Khan

Muslim-American voters "will make the real difference" in this election, according to Khizr Khan, the now-famous father of a UAE-born soldier killed while serving with US forces in Iraq.
Khan's son, Captain Humayan Saqib Muazzam Khan, was born in the UAE in September 1976 and later moved to the US with his parents.
He joined the army after graduating from the University of Virginia in 2000.
Khan was later killed while serving with the army's 1st Infantry Division in the Iraqi city of Baqubah on June 8, 2004. He was 27 years old.
At the Democratic National Convention in July, Khizr Khan and his wife Ghazala harshly criticized Donald Trump, particularly his proposed ban on Muslims. In response, Trump suggest that Hillary Clinton's campaign wrote the Khan's speech, and implied that Ghazala Khan "maybe wasn't allowed to say anything" during the event.
Trump's comments on the couple drew swift condemnation from both sides of the political spectrum, most notably Republican Senator John McCain.
Now, Khizr Khan has been touring the country promoting the Clinton campaign amongst Muslim communities. On Friday, he was in Northern Virginia, just outside Washington DC.
"They (Muslims) will make the real difference. Their commitment to their faith and their community is so differential," he told reporters on Friday.
"It will make a very positive difference towards Hillary Clinton." On Sunday, an automated voice message from Khan will be called into the homes of 500,000 registered voters.
Although the number of Muslim voters is small - at about 1 per cent - many analysts believe they will have a disproportionate influence this time. Notably, many Muslim communities are located in key battleground states such as Florida, Ohio, Virginia and Michigan. On November 2, a Muslim advocacy group announced that one million American Muslims have registered to vote in the 2016 election, more than double the number that were registered in 2012.
Polling data indicates that the overwhelming majority, more than 86 per cent, intend to vote for Clinton.
This stands in stark contrast to the 2000 elections between George W. Bush and Al Gore, in which 72 per cent of American Muslim voters voted Republican, and only 8 per cent Democrat.
bernd@khaleejtimes.com

Bernd Debusmann Jr.

bernd@khaleejtimes.com