John Binder 3 Feb 2020
Five mosques were used as Iowa Democrat Caucus sites for the first time in United States history in an attempt to drive up voter participation among Muslim voters.
On Monday evening, five mosques in the Des Moines, Iowa, area were approved as official caucus sites to increase Muslim voter participation. Iowa has a Muslim population of about one percent.
Journalist Ali Harb notes that the overwhelming majority of Muslim caucus-goers are supporting Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT):
Haseeb Arif, a 26-year old Muslim-American caucus-goers tells @MiddleEastEye he is excited that everyone at the mosque is supporting @BernieSanders.
He said he is drawn to Sanders because of the senator’s economic message pic.twitter.com/0560uHsqL8— Ali Harb (@Harbpeace) February 4, 2020
More @BernieSanders
Supporters keep arriving to the caucus site at the 42 mosque in Des Moines #IowaCaucuses pic.twitter.com/DtYSVHmtfE— Ali Harb (@Harbpeace) February 4, 2020
Now caucus-goers are officially being asked to congregate in different corners designated for their candidates. The result at the 42 mosque. One Pete supporter. Four for Yang. Everyone else is sitting in the Bernie Sanders corner pic.twitter.com/TLZAYqfiTQ
— Ali Harb (@Harbpeace) February 4, 2020
Iowa’s only Muslim state Rep. Ako Abdul-Samad told Al Jazeera that the mosques being used as caucus sites was “historic,” while Muslim Caucus of America co-chair Rummi Khan called the caucus sites a “safe place” for Muslim caucus-goers.
“I think now that Muslims are coming out because we are now realizing that if we don’t tell our story, nobody else will,” Abdul-Samad said.
Grace Bible Church 