McCormick Place, Chicago’s massive convention complex, is a city within a city. It hosts dozens of conventions and other events each year, with most receiving little or no media coverage. Late Friday afternoon, I read an article in the Chicago Sun-Times about one of these events, the three-day Annual Muslim American Society (MAS) and Islamic Circle of North American (ICNA) Convention—together, the MAS-ICNA Convention.

According to the convention’s website, “By the grace of God and the unique effort of over 300 volunteers, the number of attendees has successfully grown from 1,500 in 2001 to over 30,000 in 2022.” One attendee told me that on Friday, 27,000 people passed through the gates.

The Sun-Times article focused on a recently-launched campaign carrying the moniker “#AbandonBiden”. The group behind the campaign had scheduled a press conference for 12:30 PM today at the Hilton Garden Inn, which is connected to McCormick Place. At a December 2, 2023 press conference in Detroit, the group called on the Muslim Community to withdraw its support for President Biden, with the focus being on voters in swing states. At today’s press conference, the group announced that it was expanding the campaign to all 50 states. They hope to make President Biden a one-term president.

Given the #AbandonBiden Campaign’s serious ramifications, I attended the press conference. Afterwards, I spent two hours at the MAS-INCA Convention, which was not sufficient to do the convention justice, but I had a prior commitment later in the day. I was particularly interested in seeing whether the conflict in Gaza would dominant this year’s convention.

The Press Conference. WGN TV News was the only media outlet visible at the press conference. Those outlets taking a pass ignored what could be a seismic event, one that could unleash an earth-shattering tsunami across the U.S. political landscape.

The people behind the #AbandonBiden campaign are smart, articulate, and organized. The press conference was only part of their day’s agenda, which involved planning sessions for the campaign. As an aside, I had initially assumed that the press conference would be held at McCormick Place, but it occurred to me that the group had chosen the hotel in order to avoid the risk that the organizations sponsoring the convention could be viewed as engaging in impermissible campaign intervention under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. During the Q & A session, the organizers confirmed my suspicions when I asked why the press conference was being held offsite. Once a tax lawyer, always a tax lawyer.

Based on my interactions with Chicago’s Palestinian Community over the last three months, the Biden campaign ignores this effort at its peril. The war in Gaza has energized Chicago Muslims, many of whom were either born in Palestine or have relatives residing there. The community’s leadership is seemingly well-financed and media savvy, meaning that they have been adept at channelling the community’s energy and anger. Based on today’s press conference, I have every reason to believe that those who are organizing the #AbandonBiden campaign are equally adept, which means we can expect to see a powerful national campaign over the months ahead.

The press conference began when Hassan Abdel Salam stepped to the podium, serving as the moderator and first speaker. Salam is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Minnesota and a faculty member in the Global Studies Institute. Unlike many of the speakers at the large outdoor rallies that have at times overtaken Chicago’s streets over the last 12 weeks, Professor Salam was soft-spoken. He rejected the now familiar chants and often strident rhetoric, choosing instead to deliver a thoughtful speech.

Professor Salam might not be MSNBC’s Steve Kornacki standing at the Big Board on election night, but he has been paying close attention to swing-state polling data. At one point, he noted that the #AbandonBiden Campaign could deny President Biden up to 133 electoral votes from the following nine states.

Arizona (10,457 + Biden; 11 Electoral Votes), Florida (371,686 +Trump; 29 Electoral Votes), Georgia (12,670 +Biden; 16 Electoral Votes), Michigan (154,188 +Biden; 16 Electoral Votes), Minnesota (233,012 +Biden; 10 Electoral Votes), Nevada (33,596 +Biden; 6 Electoral Votes), North Carolina (74,483 +Trump; 15 Electoral Votes), Pennsylvania (81,660 +Biden; 20 Electoral Votes), and Wisconsin (20,682 +Biden; 10 Electoral Votes). [I have added the margins and electoral vote totals]

Professor Salam then pointed out that in 2020, only 74 electoral votes separated President Biden from former President Trump.

Shortly into his remarks, Professor Salam made a simple declaration, “Civil rights should not be strictly linked to the national level—that it should incorporate foreign policy.” Professor Salam hopes to expand the civil rights movement through a coalition comprised of Latinx people, African Americans, and the Youth. He then added progressives, conservatives, and libertarians to those the group hopes to enlist.

Professor Salam is not just interested in incorporating civil rights into foreign policy. He indicated that the campaign also seeks to expand immigration, curb police brutality, and forgive debt (presumably a reference to student debt).

Anticipating the argument that a President Trump would be worse for American Muslims than a President Biden, Professor Salam highlighted President Trump’s ban on Muslims entering the United States. In doing so, he began by saying, “we are fully committed to the idea that we will not vote or support Mr. Trump if he is running, which . . . is a big question.”

In striking a balance between a renewed travel ban and voting for President Biden, Professor Salam said, “This idea that your parents and family can’t come into the country, which was the policy pursued by Mr. Trump, is not like a policy in which your friends and family are killed.” He then told of a phone call he received from a friend informing him that 24 members of the friend’s family had been killed in Gaza. As Professor Salam recounted the story, his voice filled with deep emotion, but he retained his composure.

I was disappointed that Professor Salam did not address what from the Palestinian perspective are other problematic polices put forth during the Trump Administration, including moving the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, and a change in U.S. policy that blessed more Israeli settlement activity in the West Bank. Later in the day, during an informal discussion with one organizer, I asked about the settlements. He noted that during the first three years of the Biden Administration, the Israelis have continued settlement expansion unimpeded by the United States, a response that carried the implicit question, “What’s the difference between Biden and Trump on that count?”

Professor Salam views the death and destruction in Gaza as a paramount factor—one that overrides all others —leaving him no choice but to refrain from casting another vote for President Biden. His position defies logic, particularly given his hope the group’s efforts will extend beyond the tragedy unfolding in Gaza. Given the former president’s pronouncements to date—barrels of ink have already been spilt envisioning what a second Trump Administration will bring—does Professor Salam believe that Trump 2.0 will bring about less police brutality, more immigration, and cancellation of student debt?

Even if there is no daylight between President Biden’s or former President Trump’s policies toward the Palestinians, President Biden is far more likely to deliver the outcomes that Professor Salam advocates on a host of other issues than former President Trump. Algebraically, Professor Salam can remove the Palestinian issue from both sides of the equation, which still places President Biden ahead of former President Trump based solely on the other metrics that Professor Salam laid out.

Logic, however, doesn’t always prevail. Maybe I would reject logic and algebraic formulas had I received a similar phone call reporting that 24 members of my friend’s family had been killed. While Professor Salam is only one person, over the last three months I’ve read and heard many similar personal accounts, which likely explains the appeal of the #AbandonBiden campaign to Palestinians and other Muslims living in the United States.

Moreover, Professor Salam indicated that he had been arrested on a research trip to Israel, and then detained for “days upon days,” subject to interrogation and at one point solitary confinement. Certainly that experience shapes his views; it is an experience that I do not share, making it more difficult for me to put myself in Professor Salam’s shoes.

Going back to my law school days, I know that punishment in the criminal justice system serves several purposes, including retribution, so Professor Salam’s position regarding President Biden is consistent with American notions of justice. The question, however, still remains whether the #AbandonBiden Campaign represents a pragmatic response to President Biden’s perceived shortcomings.

At one point, Professor Salam effectively used repetition to buttress his position. “Mr. Biden what is the point of voting for you when you deny 2.2 million people water? Mr. Biden what is the point of voting for you when you deny 2.2 million people food? Mr. Biden what’s the point of voting for you when you deny 2.2 million people the right to leave [Gaza] when it is under [vast] bombardment?”

Over the course of the next 35 minutes, eight or nine others spoke. Each had an area of relevant expertise, which each used to reinforce and elaborate on the points made during Professor Salam’s opening remarks. Of particular note was Ahmed Ewaisha, a professor in the School of Electrical, Computer, and Energy Engineering at Arizona State University. He provided additional insight into the polling data. Professor Ewaisha noted that in 2020, President Biden carried the State of Arizona by roughly 10,000 votes. He then revealed recent polling data indicating that 97% of Muslims living in Arizona plan not to vote for President Biden in 2024.

During the Q & A session, I asked Professor Ewaisha to translate the 97% estimate into a raw number so that it could be compared to the 10,000-vote margin. According to the professor, there are 150,000 Muslims living in Arizona, although he acknowledges not all are voters. While his response was a bit jumbled, he suggested that the 97% translated to roughly 50,000 votes, which is sizable given the 2020 margin.

According to another speaker, approximately 145,000 Muslims living in Michigan voted for President Biden in 2020. Polling data now shows 73% of Michigan Muslims oppose Biden.

As the speakers addressed my question, at least two noted that their coalition will include non-Muslims, giving the #AbandonBiden campaign additional potency if they succeed in building an inclusive and engaged coalition.

As should be apparent, the numbers that were tossed out in response to my question were imprecise. Professor Salam asked me to send him an email requesting the specific data so that he could provide me with more complete numeric information. I plan to do take him up on his offer, and will update this article once I receive the data.

Anticipating another obvious question, several speakers addressed whether the group would abandon the campaign if President Biden called for a ceasefire. Those who addressed the question gave an emphatic “No,” they would not abandon the campaign. They had given President Biden an October 31 deadline. There has since been too much death and destruction.

At several points, speakers called out the Biden Administration’s decision yesterday (December 29) to sell Israel $150 million in military equipment without congressional approval—the second time that the Biden Administration has approved such sales this month. From the Muslim community’s standpoint, President Biden’s decision is at best tone deaf. Not doing something—calling for a ceasefire—might be viewed as passive support for Israel, but affirmatively supplying Israel with arms reflects a conscious and concrete decision on the Biden Administration’s part to aid Israel in the military campaign that has resulted in so much death and destruction. Included in the arms package are component parts that go into the 155mm shells that Israel has been using in Gaza. One speaker pointedly noted that there is a Palestinian on the other end of every rocket and missile.

Once the 45-minute press conference ended, several speakers approached me. After several people answered my questions in an adjacent mens room about the terminology surrounding daily prayer, Khalid Turaani asked to speak with me, so we sat down on a hallway bench.

Mr. Turaani asked if I was Jewish, which was more an acknowledgment of what must have been obvious to him rather than an effort to put me on the defensive. At that point, I dropped my neutrality, telling him that I was troubled with Israel’s actions in Gaza and the concomitant U.S. support. I noted that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in recent days described the loss of a 154 members of the Israel Defense Forces as a heavy one. Although tragic, I said I was even more troubled by the 22,000 Palestinians who have been killed to date, as well as the countless others who have suffered severe injury, or who are now homeless and starving. Not surprisingly, I received no pushback from Mr. Turaani.

We then launched into a discussion revolving around a solution. I said that I have been a strong proponent of the two-state solution, with countries around the world contributing massive aid and investment because prosperity breeds peace. Once again, I didn’t receive angry pushback. In fact, Mr. Turaani was seemingly enthusiastic about my linkage of prosperity with peace.

In responding, Mr. Turaani began by noting that his parents (or grandparents) had lost their home near Galilee in 1948. If I recall correctly, Mr. Turaani said that as a child, he spent time in a Palestinian refugee camp. He then asked why not a one-state solution. My response: that’s a non-starter with the Jewish population throughout the world because of the longstanding belief that Jews need a homeland due to repeated persecution.

Mr. Turaani pointed out that the United States is a pluralistic society, and then asked why can’t Israel adopt a similar model—a one-state solution? I noted that population demographics would produce a Palestinian majority in the not-to-distant future, which many believe would effectively eliminate the Jewish homeland.

His retort was an interesting one—hadn’t the heyday of the Jewish learning and culture been during the Middle Ages, a time when Muslims ruled Palestine? Unfortunately, I don’t have the historical background to venture an informed response, which is always a problem when discussing an issue with someone who has been thinking about it for decades. He would have the same problem if we discussed a tax or a nonprofit governance issue.

He then indicated that he doesn’t necessarily want the family home returned to him, but that he would like to know that he could visit or live in the area.

We didn’t arrive at a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but there was a good take-away for me that also explains why the #AbandonBiden campaign makes sense to Professor Salam and the other organizers, but not to me. Everything comes down to what might be termed “lived experience,” which is best exemplified by the old Joe South song, Walk A Mile in My Shoes. For someone who has grappled with the Palestinian problem all his life, particularly on a very personal level, a one-state solution and an #AbandonBien campaign may make perfect sense.

Come November, we will see whether Mr. Turaani and his cohorts prevail in reshaping the American political landscape. I hope they don’t succeed, but under the rules of engagement, we will both have to abide by the results.

To put the campaign and its consequences into perspective, Mr. Turaani and the others need to answer at least two of many pertinent questions: First, in February 2025, when planning a demonstration on the National Mall because Israel now rules Gaza, are you prepared for the National Park Service, now filled with MAGA political hacks who subscribe to the ‘replacement theory’, to deny your request? Second, if you still gather for the demonstration, are you prepared to be met by armed members of the U.S. military, who have been told to arrest all demonstrators, on orders from President Trump after he invoked the Insurrection Act?

I told Mr. Turaani I needed to head over to the convention because my time was short. We parted on friendly terms.

The MAS-ICNA Convention. I then made the two-block journey to the convention hall. Before passing through the gates, I saw a large video-board highlighting the tragedy unfolding in Gaza, but once inside, I was surprised by the dozens of booths filling the cavernous space. One vendor was selling boxes of baklava from Palestine. Another offered investment advisory services. Off to the sides there were countless vendors selling mostly women’s clothing. Others sold beautiful versions of the Holy Quran. Several sold religiously-themed games and toys. Amnesty International was handing out literature, and also distributing coffee—I am not sure if they were selling or giving it away.

Flanking the hall on the right was a large area set aside for prayer, divided into two sections, one for men and the other for women. On the far-left side of the hall was a stand selling gelato and other delectables. A little further back I encountered an area with 20 or so virtual-reality stations. While I didn’t strap on a headset and sit in a vibrating chair, I did talk with one of the attendants. I had assumed this was purely for amusement, simulating a seat on a NASA rocket at launch or a deep-sea dive, but I was wrong.

Each participant could choose to visualize several Muslim religious stories, including Muhammad’s journey. This year, the participants also had the opportunity to experience Moses’ travels, learning about one of the people that the Holy Quran refers to as a prophet and messenger of God. The attendant told me that next year Jesus' story will be an option. Probably the most interesting comment of the day came when he told me that it “is not a sin to visualize.” I hadn’t posed a question suggesting “sin” as a possibility, but I suspect others had expressed concerns because I had the same question.

One thing is for sure: VR is no different than Major League Baseball. At $25 for eight minutes (11 in the case of the Moses story), the experience is an expensive one for a family of four, particularly if they stop for gelato afterwards.

I did head into the large theater in the center of the hall, offering seating for at least 2,000 people. While many of the seats were vacant, several hundred people were listening to highly polished lectures and speeches. I caught part of one on combating Islamophobia and part of another on gender issues.

As for Gaza, it was clearly on people’s minds. As I walked into the hall, I followed a center pathway lined by a number of booths sponsored by Muslim charities. They were raising money for the people in Gaza. As someone who loves the tee-shirts and other paraphernalia that people use to voice their views, I was hoping I might find a colorful tee-shirt or sign to purchase, but I encountered very little protest merch.

As for Islamophobia and concerns about the “Other,” any non-Muslim who took the time to attend would quickly realize that Muslims are just like everyone else. Had I not been reading the signage, I might have thought I was attending an NRA, photographer, sportsmen’s or ABA Tax Section convention. Like vendors at all those conventions, the vendors present today offered mints, ceramic mugs, and pens to those stopping by; people seemed to prefer the booths and the opportunity to socialize to the speeches and lectures; and, with the exception of the ABA Tax Section annual meeting, this like all the other conventions was family friendly. Kids were everywhere.

On my way out, I bought a box of the Palestinian baklava—the largest one available. My wife has now hidden it so I don’t eat it all in one sitting.

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Copyright 2023, Jack B. Siegel, All Rights Reserved. Do Not Alter, Copy, Download, Display, Distribute, or Reproduce Without the Prior Written Consent of the Copyright Holder.