The race for the presidency in the U.S. has been heating up and Bernie Sanders' campaign - which, for the record, is managed by a Muslim - is going strong.
On Tuesday, Sanders won California, leading with 29 percent of the votes in early returns. It is not yet clear how many delegates Sanders will actually claim from the state, but as of Wednesday morning, he's second in the race for a Democratic nomination, right after Joe Biden.
According to CNN, Sanders turned out a lot more voters in 2016 compared to Super Tuesday 2020. But, there is still hope. Whatever the turnout, it is worth noting just how loyal American-Muslims have been to Sanders, starting with Palestinian-American Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib.
"Amo Bernie is what I like to call him," Tlaib said in her endorsement video for Sanders, who has earned the support of the Muslim community — back in 2016 and again in 2020.
Back in February, Hasan Minhaj, the popular Muslim American comedian, told the presidential hopeful, "You're Jewish, but you're pretty Muslim-ish."
The rise of Islamophobia in the U.S. has pushed many Muslim-Americans and their supporters to the ballot box. In a 2016 survey, just ahead of the elections at the time, about 74 percent of Muslim-Americans said they will cast a vote, with many citing Islamophobia as the reason behind their decision. And Sanders is one of the few outspoken candidates who has addressed the issue without hesitation.
Four years ago, the Jewish U.S. senator's message of inclusiveness resonated with Muslims and Arabs. #Yo2Bernie, #Muslims4Bernie, and #InshallahBernie were signals of hope among Muslim-Americans in the U.S. Though Sanders' campaign did not prove successful (in terms of a spot in the White House) back in 2016, his loyalty to the Muslim community has been clear as day for quite some time. As such, the Muslim, and Arab community as a whole, have been firm supporters of Sanders as well. That support has been obvious in the 2020 presidential race so far.
This week, many Muslims took to Twitter to reignite the #MuslimsForBernie hashtag in support of the presidential hopeful. Here are some of the reasons Muslims have been standing by #AmoBernie's side:
