Offending cartoons likely to influence U.S. presidential polls

Sara Rashad

Nobody knows whether the rising tide of Islamophobia around the world will serve the interests of U.S. presidential candidate Joe Biden as voters in the U.S. converge on polling stations around their country.

Nonetheless, the sure thing is that the U.S. presidential elections will be influenced by the row over the cartoons mocking Prophet Muhammad the boycott campaigns it engendered.

A million voters

Both candidates, Donald Trump and Joe Biden, target a group of American voters, hoping the votes of this group will decide the results of the elections in their favor.

Democratic candidate Joe Biden works hard to win the votes of Muslim voters as well as black Americans who voted for his predecessor Barack Obama.

Opinion polls refer to a possible success by Biden to win the votes of American Muslims from Trump. Eligible American Muslim voters make up around a million.

Trump does not recognize these votes, whereas Biden works hard to meet these voters and win their hearts.

During a meeting with some American Muslims in July, Biden wooed Muslims and used a saying by Prophet Muhammad.

Obama was also keen on addressing Muslims soon after he won the presidential elections in 2009, including from Cairo University.

Biden asked American Muslims to join in his campaign so that he can beat Trump. He vowed to cancel out a decision by Trump’s administration to deny Muslims entry into the United States if he is elected.

Biden also vowed to give Muslim Americans roles within his administration.

He faulted Trump in enlisting help from people known to harbor anti-Islam feelings.

International Organization

The International Organization of the Muslim Brotherhood lobbies, meanwhile, for Biden. The organization views Biden’s aspired victory as a victory of its own.

Trump posed threats to the existence of the Muslim Brotherhood inside the U.S. and outside it. He threatened more than one time to include the movement in a list of terrorist organizations. Trump also has a stated position of hostility to political Islam.