KUSA — For the first time ever, Muslims mobilized a national effort to register people to vote in the upcoming elections.
Colorado was one of 30 states that took part in National Muslim Voter Registration Day on August 24.
National Muslim Voter Registration Day is a nationally-coordinated effort of grassroots Muslim organizations to reach and register thousands of Muslim voters.
There were 20 volunteers speaking 10 different languages in nine mosques around the state registering Muslims to vote in Colorado.
Iman Jodeh, the spokeswoman for the Colorado Muslim Society, says the state is home to over 75,000 Muslims.
“In the 90s there were probably about 30,000 to 35,000 Muslims in Colorado and there were probably under 10 mosques to serve those Muslims,” she said. “In 2018, we are over 75,000 Muslims pushing 30 mosques up along the Front Range.”
This growing community has been doing a big push for civic engagement.
Jodeh says 60 percent of Muslims in Colorado are immigrants or refugees. They come from countries where voting was banned or dangerous.
“Coming here can oftentimes be a surprise, or a luxury and they don’t know how to engage so we definitely want to make sure they know it’s their civic duty and their right to do so,” she said.
At the voter registration tables outside the mosque, volunteers had people fill out posters that said, “my Muslim vote counts because…” One of the answers was, “… because I was born and raised here, and my family is military who proudly served and protected this country.”
“It’s so cool to show that Muslims are not only Americans, but we also love and care about this country as well,” Jodeh said.
