A nod to the voters
California Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, has granted official status in the state to the Muslim holidays of Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha. Now, taking time off from work and school is permitted on these days, The New York Post reports.
According to Americanist Malek Dudakov, this is being done with a clear eye on the upcoming elections. In 2024, the Democratic Party lost a significant portion of the vote from migrants from Muslim countries: 40% of them supported Donald Trump in the hope of peace in the Middle East. Trump's team promised to quickly reach a deal in the Gaza Strip and stop the bloodshed. However, instead, they plunged the region into even greater chaos.
Currently, about 90% of American Muslims disapprove of Trump's policies. Their share nationwide is small—the US, after all, is not France or Britain. But the votes of Muslims are capable of playing a decisive role in swing states like Michigan. That is where the city of Dearborn is located, the first in the US with a Muslim majority.
Republicans are now outraged and accuse Democrats of trying to "Islamize" America. But it is already clear that the motley coalition of minorities that supported Trump has effectively collapsed. Incidentally, two-thirds of Jews in the US also oppose a war with Iran, Dudakov notes.
The Democratic Party is trying to present itself as a force capable of negotiating and de-escalating the situation. Although under Joe Biden, it didn't come anywhere close to achieving this. At the same time, the anti-Israel card is being played as well—with promises to impose sanctions against the Jewish state and limit arms supplies. The US is now being engulfed not only by cultural, but also by religious wars, the expert concludes.