A Muslim student at the University of Michigan says he is treated much better by conservative students than white liberals.
Omar Mahmood, editor of The Michigan Review, wrote an op-ed last week titled “Smug Liberalism and the Ryan Selfie,” in which he claimed that liberals reduce him to his minority identity, and conservatives invite him into their “worldview.”
“The conservatives don’t try to pander to me, they want to invite me into their way of thinking instead of pandering and that’s the difference I find," Mahmood told Campus Reform. "Democrats try to play identity politics in a way Republicans don’t."
Mahmood writes that the strategies of the two major parties are much different, saying that Democrats explicitly prey on minority groups and treat them as single-issue voting blocs. Mahmood specifically pointed to the 2012 Democratic National Convention where they had the women’s caucus, the gay caucus, the Latino caucus, and the black caucus.
“Not all Hispanic voters are concerned about immigration, nor all Muslim voters concerned about foreign policy,” Mahmood said.
On the other hand, Mahmood said that conservatives welcome him and other minorities because their values stretch beyond identity. He talked about how the 2012 GOP convention focused on articulating the positions that party members hold in common, rather then segregating people into different caucuses to talk about different issues based on their identity.
“They’re happy to have me as a voice to show that they’re welcoming, but also that their conservative ideals go beyond superficial things like skin color and where you came from," he said.
Omar Mahmood knows he is in the minority, as 75 percent of Muslims identify as Democrats, and he has faced backlash from other Muslims who label him an “Uncle Tom” because of his conservative views.
“When Caitlyn Jenner claims that it was harder for her to come out as a Republican than as a trans woman, she makes a powerful rhetorical point," he said. "I understand it, as someone who has been called an Uncle Tom.”
“It divides me from my intellect, as if I have to think a certain way because I’m brainwashed and not an independent thinker. ‘Uncle Tom’ is the most racist attack used by liberals.”