Tlaib: Allah Has Given Us 'Opportunity' to 'Show the Power of Muslims in Georgia'
'I hope that you realize just the opportunity here that Allah has given us'
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Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib has touted the "opportunity" that "Allah" has given to assist Georgia’s Muslims in defeating GOP senators in next year's runoffs.
Republican Senators Kelly Loefller and David Perdue are fighting to save their seats in the runoff elections, which will be held on Jan. 5.
On Monday, early voting began for those races.
A day before voting, Tlaib and her fellow female Muslim in the House, Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, joined a remote “vote-a-thon” co-hosted by two Islamic Peach State organizations.
Speaking to members of the Georgia chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and the Georgia Muslim Voter Project, Tlaib touted Muslims' potential to help Democrats take the GOP’s Senate majority.
“I hope that you realize just the opportunity here that Allah has given us to show the power of Muslims in Georgia,” Tlaib said.
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Tlaib added that she hopes Muslim turnout will shock the political world.
“I want people to be like, ‘Oh my God, I didn’t even know Muslims are in Georgia,’” she said.
She also signaled Muslims in the state would turn out to vote in “droves” for Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock.
“I want to mash’allah be able to say, ‘Look at the voting in these precincts and guess what? It was the Muslim vote that delivered Georgia,’” Tlaib said.
(Mash’allah is Arabic for, “God has willed,” or “as God willing.”)
Omar later addressed Georgia CAIR and Georgia Muslim Voter Project members, expressing her wish to see Muslims help to deliver decisive victories.
“I do hope that when the election is decided on January 5, and people are able to analyze who came out and voted, we will hear that the Muslims in Georgia were a big part of making the right decision in this historic election,” Omar said.
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Meanwhile, controversial Muslim activist and Women’s March co-founder Linda Sarsour also poke and were optimistic Georgia’s Muslims could shape the Senate for years to come.
“You, the Muslim community in Georgia, by yourselves, can literally swing this entire election and send two Democrats to the U.S. Senate, which makes Kamala Harris the deciding vote,” she said during the event.
“And you can actually alleviate harm and suffering on millions of immigrants in this country, particularly on the issue of immigration reform.”
“Let history be made, and let the story be told: On January 5, 2021, it is the Muslim American community, the votes from the Muslim American community in Georgia, that literally helped us win back that Senate and put us back on the path towards winning justice for our community,” Sarsour added.
The number of Muslims living in Georgia in 2016 to be roughly 150,000, according to estimates from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Last year, Tlaib faced massive backlash after stating she gets a "calming feeling" when thinking about the Holocaust.
