Pennsylvania Republican Senate candidate Mehmet Oz with former President Donald Trump at a rally in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania Sept. 3 [File: Andrew Kelly/Reuters]
The United States could next week elect its highest-ranking Muslim official - a Donald Trump-backed Republican who has questioned the legitimacy of the 2020 elections.
Mehmet Oz, a television personality and retired surgeon of Turkish descent, is running against Democratic Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman in Pennsylvania in a race that could decide the fate of the US Senate for the next two years.
While many Muslim Americans have welcomed Oz's candidacy, his run has failed to generate enthusiasm among Muslim-American communities in the past. Oz is the first Muslim major party candidate for the Senate.
Negi Latifa, a Palestinian-American resident, said, “Policies matter to us more than everything else. If a candidate doesn't match our values and originality, then there is no point in supporting such a person for us.
Oz, who describes himself as a "secular Muslim", he only discussed about his identity. Oz has been reprimanded by US Muslim activists over Oz's affiliation with Trump and for insulting "sharia law" in previous comments.
Asked in May by Voice of Real America, a conservative media network, whether he disagreed that Islam is incompatible with the US Constitution, Oz said, "We don't want Sharia law in America." I am a secular Muslim."
He continued: “I don’t want any of these religious fanatics playing a role in American society, and I would work aggressively to block them.”
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said Oz's remarks reflected a misinterpretation of Sharia law, which perpetuates prejudice against Muslims.
Some in the Muslim community are influenced by Oz's Muslim and Turkish background; Some doubt him because of his links to right-wing populism,
According to a 2017 Pew Research Center study, Muslims make up about 1 percent of the total population in the US.
Muslim voters have largely embraced the Democratic Party since the 9/11 attacks as Republican officials engage in increasingly anti-Muslim rhetoric and policies.
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA