Muslims Making Electoral History at the Texas Capitol
Nearly 700 Muslims make their way to Austin to support first two Muslim elected representatives in Texas’ Legislature
The state with the fifth-largest Muslim population just broke electoral ground, as the first two Muslim and South Asian lawmakers are sworn into the Texas Legislature, in Austin.
Dr. Suleman Lalani and attorney Salman Bhojani, both Democrats, who were sworn in as House District representatives after winning in the 2022 Midterm elections, were met with crowds of supporters.
Civil rights organization, Emgage arranged multiple buses to take voters and well-wishers to the Texas Capitol where they witnessed history in the making.
“It was a win for the community nationwide, to have Muslims in another state house,” said Emgage Representative, Amara Majeed. “Most of all, it was a win for Muslim Texans. Because we have gone for so long without representation among state or federal elected officials, many community members felt even recently that we were years away from any gains. Now our community can go to our list of state lawmakers and point to not one, but two of our own.”
She says Texans from all over came to the event where lunch was provided and high school seniors had the opportunity to meet with lawmakers.
Tarrant county representative, Bhojani began his career in politics on the City Council for the City of Euless as part of the Parks & Leisure board.
“I was honored to share this historic moment with my beautiful family and the hundreds of HD 92 constituents who came to celebrate with us today,” said Bhojani. “As the first Muslim and first South Asian elected to the Texas Legislature, I’m excited to get to work in the 88th Legislative Session and fight for our community, our neighbors, and Texans across the state. I’m honored to take this historic first step and work with my colleagues to strengthen our schools, create an economy that works for all Texans, and increase access to healthcare.”
Houston-based physician and Fort Bend County representative Dr. Lalani, has not held a political office before. He has served on many boards of medical and community nonprofit organizations.
Emgage is focused on ensuring minority communities, such as Muslims and Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, are properly represented in politics and lawmaking.
“For those who have not been involved in civic organizing and politics, seeing Muslims elected and sworn in on a Qu'ran was a galvanizer; it showed what is possible when we come together,” said Majeed. “For those who have been working on civic engagement throughout their lives, this was a day of reaping rewards and affirmation; all the celebrating marked not just these elections, but the years of voter registration, political meetings, and community workshops that led to this historic event.”
The organization played a significant role in increasing the Muslim vote by 35 percent from 2016 to 2020. According to their 2020 Impact Report, out of the 17 million registered Texas voters, about 300,000 are Muslims.
“At every teach-in and workshop on representation, we ask how many Muslims are in the state legislature or Congressional delegation,” said Majeed. “Up until now, the answer we look for is a flat ‘zero.’ The number of Muslims in our legislature has always been exceeded by the number of lawmakers who find it acceptable to motivate voters through anti-Muslim rhetoric and proposals. Now, we can gratefully and joyously say, ‘we have two elected lawmakers’, and we can look forward to the day when we're asked how many Islamophobic lawmakers there are and we can reply ‘zero’.”
