On October 31, 2023, after our deadline and ultimatum for Joe Biden to call for and enforce a permanent, unconditional ceasefire went unmet, we launched the Abandon Biden movement. When Biden announced he would not seek re-election, we did not celebrate. There was no victory. The apparatus that enabled and emboldened Joe Biden as he funded and backed a genocide remained alive and well, propped up by Antony Blinken, Jake Sullivan, Brett McGurk, and his number two, Vice President Kamala Harris.

On August 19, after giving Kamala Harris nearly four weeks to distance herself from Biden’s monstrous foreign policy, we saw her allegiance clearly. She chose to walk in Biden’s blood-soaked footsteps. We re-launched as Abandon Harris, calling on all people of conscience to vote third party.

On October 7, at the insistent urging of our community, we endorsed Green Party presidential candidate Dr. Jill Stein and her running mate, Dr. Butch Ware, to unify our protest vote. But let there be no misunderstanding: we told our supporters plainly that if they did not share this endorsement, they should still vote third party. Sitting out this election was never an option.

This is not a victory speech. But we will not let this moment pass without congratulating the Muslim-American community for its unprecedented stand. No minority group in the United States has come together so powerfully to draw a red line—and in circumstances as dire as these. True courage doesn’t wait for permission, and principles are not accessories to be discarded when the stakes are high. By holding this line, our community has displayed a rare and genuine integrity, one that shines in the face of extreme adversity.

To those who stood by and watched: consider this our condolences. To every person who fancied themselves righteous, to those who postured as morally superior, you have exposed yourselves. For 14 months, you saw the images—children beheaded, dismembered, orphaned—and did nothing. You saw videos of women torn apart by bombs, gunned down, mourning the erasure of entire bloodlines, and still, you did nothing. You saw men crushed to death by tanks, lined up and executed, raped in Israeli prisons—and nothing moved you.

Those of you with even a shred of self-awareness will come to realize you lost more than an election. You minimized and dismissed a genocide, funded by your tax dollars, your compliance, and your silence. You didn’t just lose the election; you lost your humanity. Spare us the patronizing responses of “Good luck under Trump.” Our efforts for justice have always relied on people of conscience, and this past year has made it clear you have none.

What did you think would happen? Did you really think we’d sit idle while our tax dollars were used to massacre our people, desecrate our holy sites, level our places of worship, and that we’d then vote for the administration responsible for one of the most egregious atrocities in modern history? Did you think we’d stand by as anyone who protested was silenced, beaten, arrested, and degraded? As the letter from Black Muslim American leaders so powerfully stated, “The war on Gaza is a war on Islam.” The Muslim-American community—a diverse body of people from all ethnicities and races—has decided: we will not stand down.

We tell you what we told your murderous, complicit Vice President when she berated anti-genocide protesters at her rally: your words will not placate us, your fear tactics will not shake us, and your condescending tone does not intimidate us.

This fight is far from over. If anything, the last year was just the beginning. The outcome does not change our path. We will continue organizing, mobilizing, and building within our community. We have achieved this much with only a year of effort—imagine what we can accomplish with two, four, or ten years. We will put in the work, and we will leave the results to Allah.

There are those within our own ranks who attempted to mislead our community, rallying votes for Kamala Harris to protect their self-interests. For decades, these thieves and scoundrels have posed as representatives of our community. In truth, they represent nothing but their own greed. Let us take note of who they are, and remember.

Today marks the beginning of a new era—one where the Muslim-American community ensures the victims of U.S. imperialism are no longer faceless, voiceless, nameless. For the past 25 years, we were led to believe that staying quiet and keeping our heads down would keep us safe.

The tragic attacks of 9/11 happened. We condemned it, yet we were not spared. The illegal invasion of Iraq happened. We stayed silent, yet we were not left alone. The region was destabilized, a vacuum opened, and chaos was unleashed on our people. And still, the world pointed to us and demanded that we condemn the violence inflicted upon us.

It is time for the Muslim-American community to rise and reclaim its dignity, its integrity, its humanity. And in doing so, we hope every other minority community in the United States will see our example, draw their own red lines, leverage their votes, and stand for their dignity and humanity.

In conclusion, we ask Allah to guide us to righteousness, to strengthen our resolve to stand with the oppressed, and to grant victory to those who are crushed by their oppressors, wherever they may be.