United States: as the vote approaches, Trump makes Islam an electoral target

Two days before the November 3 midterm elections, Donald Trump is doubling down on Islamophobic attacks against Abdul El-Sayed, Democratic candidate for the Senate in Michigan. On Sunday, during a meeting in Iowa, the American president once again described him as a “jihadist”, going so far as to demand a “special metal detector” in Congress if he were elected. Assimilating a Muslim adversary to a terrorist: this is how far Trump pushes the brutality of the electoral debate.

Having already associated El-Sayed with the 9/11 terrorists, Trump persists with rhetoric that turns his religion into an accusation. No substantive debate in these insults: the president fuels prejudices and presents the access of a Muslim to the Senate as a threat to the country. Faced with this offensive, El-Sayed responds: “I am an American Muslim. » The former Detroit public health official claims his attachment to the Constitution and defends an America where everyone has their place, without religious discrimination. He also points out the obvious: neither his name nor his faith are responsible for the rise in prices.

The stakes go beyond this decisive race for control of the Senate. By making Islam an electoral foil, Trump is trampling on the principle of equality between citizens that he should be defending. American Muslims do not have to obtain his permission to fully participate in their country’s democracy.