(Religion News) Community organizer Nada Al-Hanooti insists local city council politics hold just as much power as elections on the national and federal levels.
As proof, she cites voter outreach efforts in southeast Michigan that in 2021 helped elect the city of Dearborn’s first Arab American mayor, Abdullah Hammoud, as well as four other council members that Emgage’s Michigan chapter endorsed. Newly elected Councilman Mustapha Hammoud, in turn, introduced a resolution this year that made it possible for the city of Dearborn to provide ballots and election instructions in Arabic. The city of Hamtramck followed.
“The local work is allowing us to expand voting rights so more people can vote for our candidates,” said Al-Hanooti, executive director of Emgage’s Michigan chapter, an organization that educates and mobilizes Muslim American voters.
