What's new

Confession of a Muslim Trump Supporter/Voter

The Midnight

#Baby_Talk
Contributor
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/global-opinions/wp/2016/11/10/im-a-muslim-a-woman-and-an-immigrant-i-voted-for-trump/


Asra Q. Nomani is a former Wall Street Journal reporter and a co-founder of the Muslim Reform Movement. She can be found on Twitter at @AsraNomani.

A lot is being said now about the "silent secret Trump supporters."

This is my confession - and explanation: I - a 51-year-old, a Muslim, an immigrant woman "of color" - am one of those silent voters for Donald Trump. And I'm not a "bigot," "racist," "chauvinist" or "white supremacist," as Trump voters are being called, nor part of some "whitelash."

In the winter of 2008, as a lifelong liberal and proud daughter of West Virginia, a state born on the correct side of history on slavery, I moved to historically conservative Virginia only because the state had helped elect Barack Obama as the first African American president of the United States.

But, then, for much of this past year, I have kept my electoral preference secret: I was leaning toward Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.

Tuesday evening, just minutes before the polls closed at Forestville Elementary School in mostly Democratic Fairfax County, I slipped between the cardboard partitions in the polling booth, a pen balanced carefully between my fingers, to mark my ballot for president, coloring in the circle beside the names of Trump and his running mate, Mike Pence.

After Hillary Clinton called Trump to concede, making him America's president-elect, a friend on Twitter wrote a message of apology to the world, saying there are millions of Americans who don't share Trump's "hatred/division/ignorance." She ended: "Ashamed of millions that do."

That would presumably include me - but it doesn't, and that is where the dismissal of voter concerns about Clinton led to her defeat. I most certainly reject the trifecta of "hatred/division/ignorance." I support the Democratic Party's position on abortion, same-sex marriage and climate change.

But I am a single mother who can't afford health insurance under Obamacare. The president's mortgage-loan modification program, "HOPE NOW," didn't help me. Tuesday, I drove into Virginia from my hometown of Morgantown, W.Va., where I see rural America and ordinary Americans, like me, still struggling to make ends meet, after eight years of the Obama administration.

Finally, as a liberal Muslim who has experienced, first-hand, Islamic extremism in this world, I have been opposed to the decision by President Obama and the Democratic Party to tap dance around the "Islam" in Islamic State. Of course, Trump's rhetoric has been far more than indelicate and folks can have policy differences with his recommendations, but, to me, it has been exaggerated and demonized by the governments of Qatar and Saudi Arabia, their media channels, such as Al Jazeera, and their proxies in the West, in a convenient distraction from the issue that most worries me as a human being on this earth: extremist Islam of the kind that has spilled blood from the hallways of the Taj Mahal hotel in Mumbai to the dance floor of the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Fla.

In mid-June, after the tragic shooting at Pulse, Trump tweeted out a message, delivered in his typical subtle style: "Is President Obama going to finally mention the words radical Islamic terrorism? If he doesn't he should immediately resign in disgrace!"

Around then, on CNN's "New Day," Democratic candidate Clinton seemed to do the Obama dance, saying, "From my perspective, it matters what we do more than what we say. And it mattered we got bin Laden, not what name we called him. I have clearly said we - whether you call it radical jihadism or radical Islamism, I'm happy to say either. I think they mean the same thing."

By mid-October, it was one Aug. 17, 2014, email from the WikiLeaks treasure trove of Clinton emails that poisoned the well for me. In it, Clinton told aide John Podesta: "We need to use our diplomatic and more traditional intelligence assets to bring pressure on the governments of Qatar and Saudi Arabia, which are providing clandestine financial and logistic support to ISIL," the politically correct name for the Islamic State, "and other radical Sunni groups in the region."

The revelations of multimillion-dollar donations to the Clinton Foundation from Qatar and Saudi Arabia killed my support for Clinton. Yes, I want equal pay. No, I reject Trump's "locker room" banter, the idea of a "wall" between the United States and Mexico and a plan to "ban" Muslims. But I trust the United States and don't buy the political hyperbole - agenda-driven identity politics of its own - that demonized Trump and his supporters.

I gently tried to express my thoughts on Twitter but the "Pantsuit revolution" was like a steamroller to any nuanced discourse. If you supported Trump, you had to be a redneck.

Days before the election, a journalist from India emailed me, asking: What are your thoughts being a Muslim in "Trump's America"?

I wrote that as a child of India, arriving in the United States at the age of 4 in the summer of 1969, I have absolutely no fears about being a Muslim in a "Trump America." The checks and balances in America and our rich history of social justice and civil rights will never allow the fear-mongering that has been attached to candidate Trump's rhetoric to come to fruition.

What worried me the most were my concerns about the influence of theocratic Muslim dictatorships, including Qatar and Saudi Arabia, in a Hillary Clinton America. These dictatorships are no shining examples of progressive society with their failure to offer fundamental human rights and pathways to citizenship to immigrants from India, refugees from Syria and the entire class of de facto slaves that live in those dictatorships.

We have to stand up with moral courage against not just hate against Muslims, but hate by Muslims, so that everyone can live with sukhun, or peace of mind, I finished in my reflections to the journalist in India.

He didn't get the email. I didn't resend it, afraid of the wrath I'd receive. But, then, I voted.
 
Good read thanks for posting. She is brave. She will definitely receive death threats because that is how the left advances their agenda.
 
Good read thanks for posting. She is brave. She will definitely receive death threats because that is how the left advances their agenda.

You're welcome. I thought it was an interesting read too.



Also interesting is how somebody gave this thread a '1 star' rating... whoever that was he/she must have been a Hillary supporter.
 
Good read thanks for posting. She is brave. She will definitely receive death threats because that is how the left advances their agenda.

Thats the ironic thing about it. She has far more to fear from other Muslims and leftists than she does from any Trump supporter. But the will left do anything to convince people otherwise. Sad.
 
Thats the ironic thing about it. She has far more to fear from other Muslims and leftists than she does from any Trump supporter. But the will left do anything to convince people otherwise. Sad.

You have said multiple times you are more left. So you are scaring her and sending death threats?
 
Good read thanks for posting. She is brave. She will definitely receive death threats because that is how the left advances their agenda.

Cool story, blanket statements are always true. I remember when I was more left and was forced to send death threats to push "our agenda." It was rough but that is the only way to convince people. I guess that wasnt the only way, sometimes we ate babies in public. I tried being right for awhile but the only way they could advance their agenda was to use scare tactics and keep people in fear. I often had to kill minorities to keep the fear alive. I did get sick of having to spy on all citizens after awhile though. Pushing agendas and ideas is hard work but at least there is set ways to accomplish it.


This story is an decent read. I am glad she is expressing her opinion and experience. She is definitely in the minority with her experience but that does no mean it isnt valid. Every different demographic group in this country voted for both candidates. Every race, religion, sex and any thing else voted for Trump and Clinton. This women is more rare since the majority of Muslims feel differently from her and voted for Clinton. She did make some good points though.
 
Cool story, blanket statements are always true. I remember when I was more left and was forced to send death threats to push "our agenda." It was rough but that is the only way to convince people. I guess that wasnt the only way, sometimes we ate babies in public. I tried being right for awhile but the only way they could advance their agenda was to use scare tactics and keep people in fear. I often had to kill minorities to keep the fear alive. I did get sick of having to spy on all citizens after awhile though. Pushing agendas and ideas is hard work but at least there is set ways to accomplish it.


This story is an decent read. I am glad she is expressing her opinion and experience. She is definitely in the minority with her experience but that does no mean it isnt valid. Every different demographic group in this country voted for both candidates. Every race, religion, sex and any thing else voted for Trump and Clinton. This women is more rare since the majority of Muslims feel differently from her and voted for Clinton. She did make some good points though.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...the-matter-of-memories-pizza-vs-the-internet/

But instead, the Internet responded to Memories Pizza as follows:
Wrecked the restaurant’s Yelp, Facebook and Google pages with negative reviews intended to drive their ratings down and push them of business.
Registered a fake Web site for Memories Pizza, complete with mocking photos of Crystal O’Connor that have since been removed.
Threatened to burn the restaurant down, prompting a police investigation. (Possible harassment and intimidation charges are pending.)
Eventually forced the business to close entirely.
 
Here is another one...

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/20...ignored-incendiary-rhetoric-bush-protest.html

Although reporters from numerous national news organizations were traveling with Bush and witnessed the protest, none reported that protesters were shrieking at Republican donors epithets like "Slut!" "Whore!" and "Fascists!"

Frank Dulcich, president and CEO of Pacific Seafood Group, had a cup of liquid thrown into his face, and then was surrounded by a group of menacing protesters, including several who wore masks. Donald Tykeson, 75, who had multiple sclerosis and was confined to a wheelchair, was blocked by a thug who threatened him.

Protesters slashed the tires of several state patrol cruisers and leapt onto an occupied police car, slamming the hood and blocking the windshield with placards. A female police officer was knocked to the street by advancing protesters, badly injuring her wrist.

The angry protest grew so violent that the Secret Service was forced to take the highly unusual step of using a backup route for Bush's motorcade because the primary route had been compromised by protesters, one of whom pounded his fist on the president's moving limousine.

This is the new left. Bully their way to their agenda. This is far from isolated. Just do some google searches and you will see tons of it.

Here is one that may not be as legit, but has some interesting links.

https://www.zombietime.com/zomblog/?p=621
 
You have said multiple times you are more left. So you are scaring her and sending death threats?

Im more of mix. I take from both sides. Im more of a common sense approach.

Abortion - Garbage, Ill go far right on that.

Enviorment - Ill go left on that. Obviously, we only have one planet. Better take care of it.

Economy- Socialism vs Capitalism, Ill go right on that. Socialism has been proven to not work as well as capitalism. Capitalism is better for everyone.

Religion - , Ill go left on this, Dont care for it,and the government shouldnt have anything to do with it other than protecting peoples rights as long as said religion doesnt promote bad things.

Drugs - Partly left on this, pot should only be legal, and nothing else, besides medications.

Law - Ill go right on that. Bad people cant be walking around with the rest of us.

Gay Marriage, Ill go left on this. Stupid that its ever been considered not ok.

Welfare- Middle ground, ok for those who really need it. No for capable people. Abuse of it shouldnt be allowed.


I dont care for the whiney excuse making people you find on the left a lot of the time. They also seem to be a lot of the violent and hypocrital people.
 
Im more of mix. I take from both sides. Im more of a common sense approach.

Abortion - Garbage, Ill go far right on that.

Enviorment - Ill go left on that. Obviously, we only have one planet. Better take care of it.

Economy- Socialism vs Capitalism, Ill go right on that. Socialism has been proven to not work as well as capitalism. Capitalism is better for everyone.

Religion - , Ill go left on this, Dont care for it,and the government shouldnt have anything to do with it other than protecting peoples rights as long as said religion doesnt promote bad things.

Drugs - Partly left on this, pot should only be legal, and nothing else, besides medications.

Law - Ill go right on that. Bad people cant be walking around with the rest of us.

Gay Marriage, Ill go left on this. Stupid that its ever been considered not ok.

Welfare- Middle ground, ok for those who really need it. No for capable people. Abuse of it shouldnt be allowed.


I dont care for the whiney excuse making people you find on the left a lot of the time. They also seem to be a lot of the violent and hypocrital people.

Though not particularly hashed out (not that you had set out to here), I agree with every "side" here except for abortion. IMO, it should absolutely be a woman's right to choose. In 2014, nearly half of all abortions (49%) were living below the poverty level and another 26% were living at low income. The last thing this country or world needs is more people (in this case, children) who can't be properly cared for and who grow up in a ****ty situation. That's not to say all poor people raise children in "****ty situations" of course.

https://www.guttmacher.org/news-release/2016/abortion-patients-more-likely-be-poor-2014-2008
 
Im more of mix. I take from both sides. Im more of a common sense approach.

Abortion - Garbage, Ill go far right on that.

Enviorment - Ill go left on that. Obviously, we only have one planet. Better take care of it.

Economy- Socialism vs Capitalism, Ill go right on that. Socialism has been proven to not work as well as capitalism. Capitalism is better for everyone.

Religion - , Ill go left on this, Dont care for it,and the government shouldnt have anything to do with it other than protecting peoples rights as long as said religion doesnt promote bad things.

Drugs - Partly left on this, pot should only be legal, and nothing else, besides medications.

Law - Ill go right on that. Bad people cant be walking around with the rest of us.

Gay Marriage, Ill go left on this. Stupid that its ever been considered not ok.

Welfare- Middle ground, ok for those who really need it. No for capable people. Abuse of it shouldnt be allowed.


I dont care for the whiney excuse making people you find on the left a lot of the time. They also seem to be a lot of the violent and hypocrital people.

Though not particularly hashed out (not that you had set out to here), I agree with every "side" here except for abortion. IMO, it should absolutely be a woman's right to choose. In 2014, nearly half of all abortions (49%) were living below the poverty level and another 26% were living at low income. The last thing this country or world needs is more people (in this case, children) who can't be properly cared for and who grow up in a ****ty situation. That's not to say all poor people raise children in "****ty situations" of course.

https://www.guttmacher.org/news-release/2016/abortion-patients-more-likely-be-poor-2014-2008

I agree with both of these. Im pro choice but otherwise feel the same as hack too.

Funny thing is that i think most people are some to the left and some to the right (in other words, in the middle) yet we still have this two party battle happening all around us for some reason.
 
This is the new left. Bully their way to their agenda. This is far from isolated. Just do some google searches and you will see tons of it.

So you provide a couple anecdotal evidences of something you believe and apply that to an entire group that makes up half the population? Solid argument.
 
Im more of mix. I take from both sides. Im more of a common sense approach.

Abortion - Garbage, Ill go far right on that.

Enviorment - Ill go left on that. Obviously, we only have one planet. Better take care of it.

Economy- Socialism vs Capitalism, Ill go right on that. Socialism has been proven to not work as well as capitalism. Capitalism is better for everyone.

Religion - , Ill go left on this, Dont care for it,and the government shouldnt have anything to do with it other than protecting peoples rights as long as said religion doesnt promote bad things.

Drugs - Partly left on this, pot should only be legal, and nothing else, besides medications.

Law - Ill go right on that. Bad people cant be walking around with the rest of us.

Gay Marriage, Ill go left on this. Stupid that its ever been considered not ok.

Welfare- Middle ground, ok for those who really need it. No for capable people. Abuse of it shouldnt be allowed.


I dont care for the whiney excuse making people you find on the left a lot of the time. They also seem to be a lot of the violent and hypocrital people.


I am similar to CL in that I agree with most of those but I am pro women's choice and think all drugs should be decriminalized. However based on this list you are a liberal and a lefty. But it seems you just like to generalize everyone and then make fun of that generalization you have created that oddly includes yourself.
 
So you provide a couple anecdotal evidences of something you believe and apply that to an entire group that makes up half the population? Solid argument.

Did you notice the protests? Did you do any searches to find evidence there is no bullying from the left?

Solid state of denial.
 
Back
Top