Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: In October 2026, US President Donald Trump warned France and other European countries of increasing Islamization due to their soft immigration policies, which have led to widespread riots across Europe.
In the November 3 midterm elections to the US Congress, however, he helplessly saw the Americans also making history by electing 8 new Muslim lawmakers, all Democrats, and setting off a move that may Europeanize America in the near future.
Keith Ellison, who converted to Islam in 1982, was the first-ever Muslim lawmaker in the US Congress (2008-2019).
The US Congress now has eight new Muslim lawmakers. They are Abdul El-Sayed, Aisha Wahab, Ilhan Omar, Lateefa Simon and Rashida Tlaib (all born Muslims), and Adam Hamawy, Andre Carson, and Darializa Avila Chevalier (all Christian converts to Islam).
Abdul El-Sayed, who defeated Republican Mike Rogers, becoming the first Muslim elected to the Senate, is expected to take office on January 3, 2027, becoming the first Muslim to serve in the Upper House of US Congress.
But they are not the only elected officials.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the USA’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, and CAIR Action, had recently released a directory listing record-breaking 255 Muslim elected officials serving across 26 US states and at nearly every level of government.
The 2026 Directory of Elected Muslim Officials includes Muslim Americans serving in a wide range of positions, including members of Congress, state senators, state representatives and assembly members, judges, mayors, city and county council members, commissioners, school board members, clerks and other elected offices.
The new figures represent a significant milestone for American Muslim civic and political participation and demonstrate the expanding presence of Muslim public servants in communities nationwide, it said.
Local government represents the largest share of Muslim elected leadership. The CAIR directory identifies 98 Muslim council members, accounting for 38.4% of all Muslim elected officials
Nearly one-quarter serve in education-related positions. The directory identifies 63 Muslim elected officials in education, representing 24.7% of the nationwide total. This makes education the second-largest category of Muslim elected public service.
State legislatures account for 18% of Muslim elected officials. A combined 46 Muslim officials serve as state representatives or state senators, representing approximately 18.0% of all officials identified. This includes 32 state representatives (12.5%) and 14 state senators (5.5%).
The directory identifies 11 Muslim mayors, representing 4.3% of all Muslim elected officials documented nationwide.
Eighteen Muslim judges are represented in the directory. Muslim judges account for 7.1% of all officials identified, reflecting Muslim representation within elected judicial offices.
Four Muslim Americans serve in the US Congress’ Lower House, the House of Representatives, representing 1.6% of the directory’s total.
Fifteen officials serve in other elected positions such as law enforcement, municipal, transportation, etc.
Nearly two-thirds serve in local councils or education. Combined, the 98 council members and 63 education officials account for 161 of the 255 officials — 63.1% of the entire directory.
Muslim Women
The directory also demonstrates significant representation of Muslim women in elected offices. Of the 255 elected Muslim officials identified nationwide, 110 are women (43.1%) and 145 are men (56.9%).
Women therefore represent more than four out of every ten Muslim elected officials identified in the 2026 directory, a share that exceeds women’s representation in both the US Congress (28.2%) and state legislatures nationwide (33.6%)
Others
Since CAIR and CAIR Action first announced the 2026 Directory of Elected Muslim Officials, members of the Muslim community, local leaders, elected officials and CAIR chapters across the country provided additional information identifying Muslim elected officials who were not included in the initial count.
As a result, the total number of officials included in the final directory, increased significantly from the preliminary figures announced earlier.
The increase reflects both the growing number of Muslims serving in public office and the challenges of maintaining a comprehensive national count of Muslim elected officials across thousands of federal, state, county, municipal, judicial, school board and other local offices.
In a statement, CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad said:
“This record-breaking number represents far more than a statistic. It reflects an American Muslim community that is increasingly engaged, organized and committed to serving our nation.
“From Congress and state legislatures to city councils, school boards and local governments, Muslim Americans are stepping forward to serve their neighbours and strengthen our democracy. At a time of heightened anti-Muslim rhetoric, these public servants send a powerful message that American Muslims will continue to participate freely and fearlessly in the civic life of our nation.”
CAIR Action Executive Director Bassim Elkarra said:
“The record number of Muslim elected officials identified in this directory demonstrates the growing political strength and civic engagement of Muslim communities nationwide….This is not only a record of where we are today. It is a reminder of what is possible when our communities vote, organize, run for office and participate at every level of our democracy.”