(VOA) As the United States prepares for a presidential election next month, the idyllic New York suburb of Teaneck, New Jersey, is gearing up for elections that reflect a broader trend in U.S. politics.
Two Muslim women are running for local office in Teaneck, a town of 41,000 residents with a significant Muslim population. They are among hundreds of Muslim candidates in local, state and federal elections around the country.
Teaneck once had a Muslim mayor but never a Muslim woman on its city council.
Reshma Khan, a longtime local activist of Indian origin and a council candidate, is aiming to change that.
“I don’t take that lightly,” Khan, 47, said in a recent phone interview from her makeshift canvassing base in Teaneck. “It’s one of great responsibility as a Muslim.”
