It is our civic duty, our humanistic duty, our Muslim duty to vote

Power Station

This is a story about civic engagement and political power that should be headline news. In 2020, EMGAGE, a national nonprofit, was instrumental in motivating over one million registered Muslim American voters to cast a ballot in one of our nation’s most consequential elections. This milestone is particularly meaningful because Muslim Americans have been marginalized, underrepresented and subject to hate crimes and government persecution since the shared national tragedy of 9-11. EMGAGE energizes the Muslim American electorate by investing in state-based organizing that builds networks among diverse populations, including Black Muslim Americans, who share a strong desire to preserve our embattled pluralistic democracy. In this episode of Power Station, Wa’el Alzayat, shares how his whose lived experience as a Syrian immigrant, Middle East expert, and American diplomat, informs his leadership of EMERGE. He listens to and champions public policy priorities, from tackling gun violence to expanding economic opportunity, that move Muslim Americans, like other Americans, to advocate for policy change and to vote. At a time when democracy in America and across the globe is alarmingly fragile, we are all strengthened and inspired by EMGAGE’s inclusive approach to community and power building.