Residents around Cook County went to the polls on April 5 to vote in municipal elections and could have elected the first Muslim American school board member in Illinois.
Rola Othman and Lina Zayed were candidates for school board in Burbank and Itedal Shalabi was a candidate in North Palos.
While all three lost, Reema Ahmad, executive director of Project Mobilize, a non-profit organization that sponsored the candidates, says this is just the first step in integrating Muslims into the political process.
“It’s not just about saying Muslims are here,” Ahmad said. “It’s about saying we care about what’s going on and these [candidates] are people that want to give back to everybody, not just Muslims.”
To some, the knowledge that there are so few Muslims in elected offices was surprising.
“I had no idea there weren’t Muslims on school boards until I heard about this,” said Cyrus Abed, a 26 year-old Muslim American. “I can’t vote in those areas but I definitely support the idea of representing our community.”
The women are three of seven Muslim American candidates running for local offices. The other four are running for positions in park districts and on library boards.
All seven candidates are the product of Project Mobilize. The organization is geared toward engaging minority communities, specifically the Muslim American community.
“The goal of Project Mobilize is to develop the political potential that exists within the politically marginalized communities,” Ahmad said. “Right now we are operating within the Southwest suburbs of Chicago within the Muslim American and Arab American communities.”
Of the seven candidates, two were elected: Ahmed Aduib was elected to the Bridgeview Public Library board in an uncontested race and Nuha Hassan was elected as the Justice Park District Commissioner.
Project Mobilize not only promotes Muslim American candidates but also strives to get Muslim Americans to volunteer, vote and become involved in the political process.
“You now have people who are second and third generation and they know the process and their rights,” Ahmad said. “And for the first time, we have individuals running that are from the community and people know who they are, which is exciting.”
Historically, Muslim Americans have not turned out in high numbers to vote.
“I am politically active but I think many Muslims don’t feel like there is anything in the process for them,” Abed said. “Having candidates from our community will maybe get people to say, ‘Oh, this does matter to us.’”
Project Mobilize hopes to encourage Muslim Americans to go to the polls.
“We have people doing phone banks, going door to door,” Ahmad said. “We know turnout is expected to be low but we’re working hard to change that.”
The seven Muslim candidates on April 5 ballots are not the first this election season. In the Feb. 22 municipal race Ahmed Khan ran for alderman in the 50th Ward. Khan was one of five candidates in a competitive race, which included long-time incumbent Bernard Stone.
“It made me wish I lived in that ward,” Abed said. “Voting for someone who knows what it’s like to be Muslim in Chicago, not something that happens much.”
Khan came in fourth with almost 6 percent of the vote. Despite the losing, Abed says it’s a step in the right direction for Muslim Americans.
“It’s our right to vote and I think people forget that it is also our right to run,” Abed said.
