Progressive Muslim vote

The progressive Muslim vote refers to the support that the majority of Muslims make in the West for electoral options of the

For some scholars, despite the differences on cultural and moral issues with the left, and the secularism normally associated with it, Muslims as voters are attracted to progressive parties for different reasons:^[1][2][3]

• In international politics; progressive governments tend to be closer to Muslim interests such as the
  interventions in the Middle East such as the Iraq War
  .
• The left is often more critical or even hostile to
  anti-Zionist
  .
• Most Western Muslims have immigrant heritage, and left and
  center-left
  parties tend to be friendlier to immigrants and support more humanistic migration policies.
• The
  Islamophobic
  positions, or are close to a base of ultra-conservative Christians hostile to Islam, which has alienated Muslim voters who do not have more choice than opting for parties opposed to them on the other side of the spectrum.
• The existence of Islamic socialism and that the ideas and principles of Islam are close to socialism or progressive socioeconomic positions, so many Muslims, whilst differing with the cultural liberalism of the left, agree with their economic ideas.

Rafaela Dancygier from Princeton University mentions that the majority of Muslims in Europe are small business owners and micro-entrepreneurs who would not necessarily agree with left-wing policies such as tax increases and the welfare state, so would normally be akin to conservative center-right parties; the fact that they are not demonstrates the failure of the center-right to attract the Muslim voter out of fear of alienating its Christian base.^[1]

Jonathan Lawrence of

The only Muslim representatives in the United States Congress are from the Democratic Party. As of 2024, no US Senators to date have been Muslim, although Mehmet Oz, Republican nominee for senator from Pennsylvania in 2022, was the first to be nominated by either party).^[8] As of 2024, notable Muslim U.S. representatives have included Keith Ellison, André Carson, Ilhan Omar, and Rashida Tlaib.^{[9][10][11][12]}

During the

In late January 2024, The Guardian reported that Starmer's office had begun polling and holding focus groups among British Muslim voters after senior party officials expressed concern that Labour was losing the support of Muslim constituents.^[25] In addition, a new website called "The Muslim Vote" was launched to mobilise British Muslim voters during the next UK general election and encourage them to support MPs who supported an immediate ceasefire in Gaza during the November 2023 vote.^[26][25][24]

In February 2024, polling conducted by polling company Survation indicated that Labour's support among Muslim voters had declined by 26 points to 80%.^[26] The Survation poll also found that only 60% of British Muslim voters who had supported Labour during the 2019 United Kingdom general election were willing to vote for the party again at the next general election and that 85% of Muslim voters would vote for parties based on their position on the Israel Gaza war.^[24] The Labour Muslim Network condemned the party's response to the Israel-Hamas war and warned that Muslim voters "will not support any political party that does not fervently oppose the crimes committed against the people of Gaza." Several Muslim Labour councillors in Oxford, Burnley, Blackburn and Walsall resigned, threatening Labour control of several local councils.^[26] Labour also encountered challenges in several electorates with significant Muslim populations including Rochdale, Ilford North,^[26] and the London borough of Newham.^[24]

Former Labour MP and left-wing politician George Galloway has also appealed to Muslim voters in Rochdale by capitalising on their dissatisfaction with the party's Gaza stance.^[26] On 29 February 2024, Galloway won the 2024 Rochdale by-election with 40% of the vote. During his victory speech, Galloway accused Starmer of enabling the "catastrophe" in Gaza.^[27]

France

86% of French Muslims supported Socialist Party candidate François Hollande in 2012.^[2] The Muslim support for both Hollande and later Benoît Hamon alongside left-wing candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon is also in the majority with only 15% supporting right-wing candidates.^[3] In the first round of the 2022 French presidential election, around 69% of French Muslims voted for Mélenchon.^[28][29] Notably, Mélenchon was the only major presidential candidate to consistently denounce Islamophobia and discrimination against Muslims.^[28]

Germany

Among

In Sweden, around 70-75% of Swedish Muslims are estimated to support the Social Democrats, whilst 10-15% support other parties of the red–green alliance.^[3]

Asia and Oceania

India

In Australia, Muslims tend to vote for the centre-left Labor Party.^[35] Younger generations of Australian Muslims tend to also vote for the smaller left-wing parties, notable the Greens.^[35][36]

See also

• Islamo-leftism
• Islamic socialism
• Christian left
• Jewish left

References