POLITICS Extremism (CVE), a program predicated on the notion that Muslims are more dangerous to society than other people (https://ehsan.substack.com/p/mpacslong-con-cve-and-gaslighting). There was serious money (https://www.dhs.gov/ news/2016/07/06/dhs-announces-countering-violent-extremism-grant-program) behind this effort before it eventually fizzled in Muslim spaces. One character in this scene was Hedieh Mirhamadi, who moved from speaking at Islamic centers (https://www.startribune. com/what-maryland-s-test-lab-can-teachminnesota-about-thwarting-radical-recruiters/379484141/), while secretly working for the FBI (https://www.politico.com/ magazine/story/2016/03/fbi-muslim-outreach-terrorism-213765) to entering the world of Trump supporters (https://www. fox6now.com/news/i-was-duped-davidclarke-says-ex-business-partner-was-amuslim-brotherhood-operative) to starting her own Christian ministry to trade on her former Muslim status (https://resurrectministry.com), which has marketing power on its own. It’s depressingly easy to scam Muslim leaders. Of course, Muslims will consider the overall benefit and harm when it comes to supporting politicians. They may donate, campaign and vote for those with whom they disagree on specific issues. However, this is different from people who are not Muslim or, in some cases, are actively hostile to Islam taking advantage of our influence and money to cause harm.
DOING POLITICS BETTER
Politics can be a means of improving the conditions of people’s immediate lives or achieving greater justice in a society. It’s also an excellent way for the unscrupulous to gain wealth, power and influence unjustly. Muslim American nonprofits and leaders should be more careful about vetting each other. The community, nationally and locally, has many grifters and bad-faith actors. Buyer beware! Do politics like you pray, with ihsan (excellence). You know that you cannot pray on a filthy carpet. Your politics should be no different. ih Ahmed Shaikh is an attorney, former ISNA Executive Council member and co-author of “Estate Planning for the Muslim Client” (ABA Publishing 2019). He also writes a newsletter evaluating Muslim nonprofits (ehsan. substack.com).
32 ISLAMIC HORIZONS
Muslim Americans in Government COMPILED BY ISLAMIC HORIZONS STAFF
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he Associated Press exit polls of Nov. 6, 2020, revealed that 35% of Muslims voted for Donald Trump and 64% for Joe Biden. A separate poll from CAIR found that 17% of Muslims voted for Trump — up by 4 percentage points from its poll in 2016 (“2020 Muslim Voters Presidential Election Exit Poll,” Nov. 3, 2020; www.cair.com). However, Biden’s White House team includes very few Muslim Americans, and those only primarily in junior- and mid-level positions. Uzra Zeya, a 1989 graduate of Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, has served in the State Department for nearly three decades. She is now Undersecretary of State for arms control, democracy and human rights. Her previous job experience includes working as CEO and president of the Alliance for Peacebuilding (www.allianceforpeacebuilding.org), a nonprofit that seeks to end violent conflict and promotes peace globally. Among her former postings are chargé d’affaires and deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Paris (2014-17); acting assistant secretary and principal deputy assistant secretary in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (201214); and chief of staff to the deputy Secretary of State (2011-12). She has served as a U.S. diplomat in New Delhi, Muscat, Damascus, Cairo, Kingston and other capitals. She left the State Department in the summer 2018, alleging that the Trump administration was bent on reversing decades of gains made by minorities and women. Since then, Zeya has served as deputy executive secretary to the Secretary of State, director of the Executive Secretariat Staff, UN General Assembly Coordinator, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress and a senior advisor at Albright Stonebridge Group. At Georgetown, her alma mater, she serves on the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy’s board of advisors. Zeya, an Indian Muslim who speaks French, Arabic and Spanish, was awarded France’s highest civilian honor: the Légion d’honneur. Maher Bitar, a Palestinian-American (JD, Georgetown University) who has served as the general counsel for House Intelligence Committee Democrats since 2017 and played a key role, as Rep. Adam Schiff ’s (D-Calif.) top legal adviser, during former President Trump’s first impeachment, has a new job: National Security Council senior director for intelligence programs. This position serves as the day-to-day
