Philly’s new Black Muslim group seeks to pressure — not abandon — Biden over Gaza

The fact that an “abandon Biden” movement exists — and has expanded to several swing states, including Pennsylvania — straight-up terrifies me.

Granted, Muslim activists’ concerns about President Joe Biden’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war, and their rage over all the innocent blood in Gaza (where the death toll has surpassed 30,000), are more than valid. But withdrawing support for Biden will only help create a path to victory for former President Donald Trump, which would be disastrous for U.S. foreign policy.

Trump plans to institute mass deportations, implement another Muslim travel ban, replace thousands of civil servants with MAGA loyalists, and use the U.S. Justice Department to prosecute his political rivals, among other ills. A win for him in November would set this country on a downward spiral that would take generations to recover from. As a nation, we can’t afford to sit back and watch Trump become a dictator (even if only for a day), as he has pledged.

So I was relieved to hear that the new Black Muslim Leadership Council — which claims to be the first Black American Muslim-led group of its kind in the country, and officially launched in Philadelphia last week — isn’t aligned with the abandon Biden movement.

Instead, the group’s leader, Salima Suswell, said the council intends to use its collective influence to call for a cease-fire, as well as increased aid for Gaza, but will not completely abandon Biden’s reelection effort. She believes there is still time for him to turn things around.

“I think it’s too early to go as far as saying, ‘We abandon [Biden].’ The way democracy works is through conversation.” She told me that when it comes to Muslim Americans and people suffering in Gaza and in Israel, “there is still time for the president” to do the right thing.

“This is not something that’s just a Muslim problem. This is an American issue,” Suswell told me over the phone on Thursday. “We stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people. It’s been part of Black American history to stand in solidarity with the people of Palestine, and we are firm in our stance that we are calling for a cease-fire — an immediate and permanent cease-fire.”

I stopped by City Hall for the official launch of the Black Muslim Leadership Council on Friday. As folks streamed into the Mayor’s Reception Room, it felt a bit like a family reunion as people hugged and greeted each other, calling out, “As-salamu alaikum,” which is Arabic for “Peace be unto you.”

I spotted State Sen. Sharif Street, City Commissioner Omar Sabir, Ryan Boyer (who leads the Philadelphia Building and Construction Trades Council), Bilal Qayyum (president of the Father’s Day Rally Committee), Sheriff Rochelle Bilal, state representative candidate Saj “Purple Queen” Blackwell, and Rickey Duncan (CEO of the NoMo Foundation) in the crowd. Each of them is Muslim. When it was time to get started, they gathered behind Suswell as she made her remarks.

“We have a long, proud history of driving social and political change, but unfortunately, we are very often overlooked by those in position of power,” she said in her speech.

The timing of the formation of the Black Muslim Leadership Council couldn’t be better, considering how tense things are between many Muslim communities and the Biden administration. Suswell got the idea to create such a group following the 2020 elections, when she served as a political adviser for the Biden campaign. She’s also the founder of Evolve Solutions, a local government affairs and community engagement consulting firm.

“We haven’t taken a position at all as an organization yet,” she said. Even though the Black Muslim Leadership Council is encouraging American Muslims not to abandon Biden, Suswell said she’s not sure who she is voting for in November. “I, myself, am uncommitted to any candidate.”

The council plans to conduct nonpartisan voter turnout campaigns in Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Michigan, which all have sizable Muslim populations. “We are going to encourage folks to vote, even if they vote uncommitted,” Suswell said, referring to protest “uncommitted” votes that more than 100,000 made in Michigan to show their displeasure with the United States’ support of Israel.

The council will also focus on education, Black maternal health care, criminal justice, and affordable housing, among other domestic issues. “When we elevate issues that affect Black Muslims, we tend to elevate issues that affect the entire Black community,” Street said at the Friday event. “Having our voice be clearly heard is important. Too often, in a city where probably 70% to 80% of Muslims in Philadelphia are African American, we are not thought of.”

As he spoke, I looked at all of the faces gathered behind him. If the new Black Muslim Leadership Council is as effective as it hopes to be, we should be hearing from a lot more Black Muslims in the future.