Gaza, Harris, Trump and the Muslim vote: MEMO in Conversation with Saher Selod

Millions of Muslims in the US have said Gaza is the most important election issue for them, but with the frontrunners in the presidential election being Israel supporters Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, how will they vote?

On 5 November, Americans will take to the polls to pick the 47th president of the United States. The choice before them will be incumbent Vice President Kamala Harris or former President Donald Trump. For large sections of the American public the choice is clear, for Harris supporters, a Trump presidency represents an existential threat to democracy and an attack on women and minority rights. For Trump supporters, a Harris presidency represents a liberal establishment that is both out of touch with ordinary working Americans and is actively hostile to them. However, for the rest of American society the election is less clear cut. For Arab and Muslim Americans there are concerns about both candidates, while Trumpian politics is seen as antagonistic towards Muslims, Harris's stance on Israel/Palestine has made many feel they cannot vote for her. The majority of Muslim American voters polled say Gaza is the most important election issue for them and the Muslim vote could play a key role in swing states. So how do Arab and Muslim Americans see the upcoming election? This week, MEMO is in Conversation with Saher Selod of the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding to help us delve into what's at stake both for the candidates and the electorate.


Saher Selod is Director of the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding and Associate Professor and previous Chair of the Department of Sociology at Simmons University in Boston, MA. Her research expertise centres on the experiences of Muslims with surveillance. Her first book, 'Forever Suspect: Racialised Surveillance of Muslim Americans in the War on Terror', examines how Muslim men and  women experience gendered forms of racialisation through their hyper surveillance because of the War on Terror. Her co-authored second book, 'A Global Racial Enemy: Muslims and Twenty-First Century Racism', assesses how the global War on Terror has justified the detention, imprisonment and hyper surveillance of Muslims in the US, UK, India and China.