In US presidential elections, Muslim and Arab Americans have broken away from two decades of Democratic allegiance and cast most of their votes for Trump or third-party candidates. The defections stemmed from anger over the Biden administration's policies on the Gaza war, which helped Trump win. According to Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) exit polls, less than half of Muslim voters supported Kamala Harris.

CAIR's Boothferat survey revealed this information on Thursday. The majority of Muslim voters voted for a third-party candidate or Trump, and this is a phenomenon of support for the first three candidates among the Muslim community over the past 20 years.

Most of them voted for third-party candidates or Trump, said Robert McCaw, director of government affairs for CAIR. McCaw said this in an interview given to Voice of America.

Changes in Muslim votes

James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute, said there were echoes of the Muslim vote shift among Arab American voters. They have supported Democratic presidential candidates (2 to 1) for more than two decades.

'Then came this election where Gaza had an impact and there was a huge amount of discontent among the communities in this community; I had no idea it would have such an impact. What they saw happening in Gaza affected them deeply.'

There are approximately 3.7 million Arab Americans in the United States, most of whom are Christians, and a similar number of Muslim Americans.

Arab strongholds in Michigan are Dearborn, Dearborn Heights, and Hamtramck. Voter revolt is strongest there.

More than 55 percent of Dearborn residents are of Middle Eastern descent. Trump received more than 42 percent of the vote here. Four years ago he got 30 percent of the vote in the region. Harris received only 36 percent of the vote, while the population gave nearly 70 percent of its vote to President Joe Biden.

Trump won 43 percent of the total vote in Hamtrama, the first Muslim-majority city in the United States. He got just 13 percent of the vote from the city in 2020. Harris received 46 percent of the vote, compared to 85 percent for Biden four years ago.

Green Party candidate Jill Stein has been a vocal critic of the Israeli war on Gaza. He got less than 20 percent votes in these two cities.

Samra Lukman, a Dearborn-based realtor and political activist, called the reshuffle "absolutely astonishing."

Luqman said, 'It's really, really cool.' He campaigned for Biden last fall before switching sides over the Gaza issue.

The last time Muslim Americans voted overwhelmingly Republican was in 2000. George W. Bush's service gained widespread support from this community.

The situation changed after the 9/11 attacks. However, in recent years some conservative Muslims have begun to lean back toward the Republican Party on cultural issues.

Anger over Gaza has cemented this shift to the right, Lukman said.

"It really put the nail in the coffin for the Democrats in this election," he added.

Yet some experts have urged caution in interpreting Harris' poor performance among Muslim voters. Youssef Shohoud, a professor at Christopher Newport University, said the AP votecast showed the vice president captured an average of 63 percent of the Muslim vote, slightly less than Biden in 2020.

Sahir Silad, director of research at the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding (ISPU), added, 'While Dearborn is an exception, I think we need to wait and see what the main trends are for Muslim voters across the country.'

War on Gaza promises

Even so, Trump has gained considerable influence. He has actively courted Muslim and Arab voters this year after securing 35 percent of the Muslim vote in 2020 and has pledged to end the Gaza conflict. Last week he visited Hamtramka, the town that supported him in the Muslim mayoral election.

"His campaign has not gone unnoticed here," said Asam 'Kamal' Rahman, a Bangladeshi American running for mayor in 2021. He voted for Trump.

Luqman said Trump's message of peace touched many voters and resonated with them.

Luqman said, 'He said several times this year, and it became almost a pattern, that he wants to stop the war, stop the war, stop the war.'

While Gaza is the number one issue for Muslim Americans, the Rouzi-Rozgar question has also pushed many away from Harris, a number of activists and pollsters say.

"I want people in office who will look first and foremost at solving the domestic problems of Americans," said Negi Almudegi, a data analyst in Dearborn.

The ISPU conducted a survey over the summer that found the economy ranked number three among Muslim voters. First is the conflict in Gaza and second is the cessation of hostilities on foreign soil.

"They feel this pain as much as anyone else," said Chad Haynes, co-director of Arizona State University's Center on the Muslim Experience. So, I think that is the main issue when it comes to the very specific interests and concerns of the Muslim community.'

Haynes converted to Islam and became a Muslim. He voted for Harris. In his words, this election divided the Muslim American population into two; Some wanted to give Democrats a message on Gaza, while others feared Trump's return.

Haynes said in an interview, 'So…one camp is happy that…Democrats are kind of screwed and the other camp is deeply concerned about the next four years.'