At a recent fundraiser for local Muslim American candidates in the Fremont area of northern California, a young boy said he wanted to run for political office in the future.
For the three candidates, Aziz Akbari, Qasim Lodhi and Kashif Wasim, whose families hail from South Asia, this is part of what brings them joy on the campaign trail leading up to the 2026 midterms on 3 November–after decades of not seeing their own Muslim communities represented in politics.
"I went to my first city council meeting when I was seven. It was the very first council meeting after 9/11. My family had just moved to Fremont a year prior," Akbari said to The New Arab. He recalls how at the time the city was considered safe and affordable, in contrast with today’s exorbitant housing prices.
25 years later, as a city council candidate himself, he said, "That council meeting was specifically put together to welcome the Muslim community to Fremont to make sure we knew we were a part of this community."
"I juxtaposed that experience with what we saw in the media, where Muslims, immigrants were demonised just for their background, their religion. I would look at home, and though Fremont wasn’t perfect, it was a welcoming community, a safe community. It was a community that wanted us here. That was so empowering for me, and that stuck with me," he continued.
At 18, eager to give back to his community, he ran for mayor of Fremont (losing his first election, though undeterred from politics). He eventually worked his way up through politics at the city’s consumer affairs division, and now works in the water department.
According to the Council on American-Islamic Relations, there are currently around 225 Muslim American elected officials, the majority of whom serve at the local level.
"Local politics is incredibly important because 90 percent of your interactions with government happen at the local level. The roads you drive on, the schools your kids go to, the water your drink, the safety you rely on," he said.
Qasim Lodhi, who is running for city council of nearby Union City as a first-time candidate, said he was inspired to get into the race to bring people together and address common issues, such as the rising cost of living.
"The gap between people and their representatives has been growing exponentially over the last decade or so," he told TNA. "The more public pressure they have, the harder their job gets. It is up to the people who need to participate more. People are spending more time having to earn a living and less time at city council meetings. They can't take the extra stress."
Lodhi, whose professional background is in high-tech, believes he can help connect people through technology for day-to-day concerns, such as road safety.
Kashif Wasim, who is running for the local New Haven school board, also wants to see technology put to better use, particularly after the pandemic, which saw a general decline in test scores.
"I want to prepare our kids to be ready for the future," he tells TNA. He notes that many students are not getting jobs in their fields after graduation, and he worries this could get worse if they’re not prepared for the AI revolution. "We're looking for more creativity from students. If you want to change the world, change the education. I want to do impact that lasts longer."
In addition to a growing number of Muslims running for office, there are also more candidates who would identify as allies on issues such as Israel's genocide of Gaza, domestic surveillance, and academic freedom.
There are currently five Muslim-American members of Congress–Representatives Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar, Aisha Wahab, Andre Carson and Lateefah Simon. If Abdul El-Sayed and Adam Hamawy win their races in Michigan and New Jersey for the Senate and the House, they will add to the Muslim leadership in Congress. Though the numbers are growing, Muslim Americans still have not reached proportional levels of the current populations in terms of political representation.
“We are around eight to 10 million Muslims in the US. Based on that number, we should have 12 to 14 in Congress. Now, we have five in Congress, ma sha’allah,” says IsTafa Zaidi, founder and president of the US American Muslim Public Affairs Council, noting that a decade ago there was essentially no Muslim representation in Congress.
"Our goal is to encourage our youth, our capable individuals to run for office and to serve the community," he told TNA. "We're encouraging people to go to the school board, to the city council, to engage where they live. They’re a part of the system and society."
"Our slogan is: A seat at the table. You need to have a seat at the table to make sure that you are at the decision-making table," he added.