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Muslims unite for candidates
10-17-2018
There are many Muslims running in their local city elections being held on October 20th. These candidates are financing their own campaigns with minimal contributions from the public. It is very difficult for candidates to hold down full-time jobs while organizing and running their campaigns. But these candidates feel that their voices and the communities they wish to represent, need to be heard in the decision-making process at various levels of government.
Our Muslim community is facing many issues and we should all actively participate in getting our community members elected to local and federal governments. If we want change, we must start organizing at the community level. We, as Canadian Muslims, must consciously work to increase Muslim leadership and we must engage ourselves in political dialogue. Many Pakistani Canadians think to themselves "why waste my time or money donating to someone who may not have a chance in winning a seat."
That is the most senseless and irresponsible opinion of those who are kitchen table observers who will not get involved but will watch from afar and wait for the results. In today's world, investing in a person who is going to represent your voice in government is equally as important as investing in your day to day essentials because ultimately that person will be looking after your interests. But, on the other hand, in many cases our Muslim community will gladly support other religious minorities because they happen to be the current "popular" person to hitch themselves to. There is nothing wrong with supporting candidates of other minorities, but we should volunteer equally intensely for Muslim candidates.
Muslims must unite for a common cause. If the candidate is campaigning in Richmond, we must connect with that candidate and ask to help him or her regardless of where we live in the Lower Mainland.
Get to know your candidates and call them to ask questions about their platforms and what they stand for. We can all donate funds and/or a couple of hours walking door to door to get the word out about a candidate, delivering flyers, sharing social media pages, making phone calls, deliver lawn signs, stand on street corners with campaign signs and/or attend a candidate's public events. Volunteers are the backbone of a political campaign. Some may wish to volunteer in a local campaign but hesitate because they doubt that doing so will not make any difference to the outcome of the election.
But we know that the efforts of individual campaign volunteers in their own communities can often make a big difference. The Pakistani and Muslim community in Canada must act fast and move forward as a unified and cohesive community and advocate to have our voices present in determining our future. Thank you to all of the candidates and their families for their dedication and commitment. May Allah bless us all with the best of intentions.
Kauser Khokhar, Richmond, BC
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