Muslims in Arizona Engage in State Elections

By Nidah Chatriwala, TMO

In the occasion of Election Day on Tuesday, news channels, local public properties, where ballots were being submitted, and social media sites were buzzing with candidate and voter comments.

Voting is a civil right for American citizens. This act is one way of guiding public opinion and wants to governing bodies.

Mohamed  Elsharkawy is one citizen who understands the value of voting and its connection to change.

“[It’s] very important to Muslims and non-Muslims alike. We need to change the image of Arizona and erase the bad name it had for the past seven years.We need to fund our schools and put AZ on the top states when it comes to education.We need to take care of law enforcement,”  Elsharkawy shared.

Till the last second, Arizona candidates did their part of expressing how they would represent their state’s people and bring about changes that may have been prolonged or rejected in the past.
To encourage citizens to vote, social media site Facebook would prompt their users to select “I voted” button to collect data that was later used to create a map of states who were actively voting.
Muslim Arizonans too took part in the recent elections.

“[It’s] very important to be a part of any government election, any vote can make a difference in helping choose the potentially right person,” said Aamna R.

Voting holds a special value to Muslim Arizonans such as Hana A., who said, “being able to vote is a part of America that makes it beautiful. Voting is the highest form of civic duty where American Muslims like myself can be heard through the ballot box.” On a lighter note, she was most happy on receiving the “I voted” sticker.

Correspondingly, Hawra Al Jaberi said, voting is an opportunity “for our voices to be heard”.

Votes have been casted. Results were announced. Now, Arizona waits for change to come about.

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