Thread by @rushalatif

THREAD: Emotions are still running high for many of us as we come to terms with the suspension of Bernie’s campaign. To process this moment with you, I'd like to share something personal. It’s the story of a special first-time voter, my little brother Mohammed. / 1

He’s the reason I've been working tirelessly the past year as a volunteer to mobilize Muslims as a unified bloc for the Senator. I like to think the baraka of his vote played a special role in helping us win California. /2

Mohammed is disabled w/ Cerebral Palsy. Unable to walk, talk, or do much else for himself at age 31, he represents one of the most vulnerable and overlooked populations in the country—and the world. It was in solidarity with his community that we voted in Cali on Super Tuesday./3

We hadn’t thought about helping Mohammed register to vote until the opportunity was presented to us last year during the month of Ramadan in a moment we weren’t expecting. My mother and I had taken him to the DMV to renew his ID... /4

and a question popped up on the screen as we were wrapping up his application: “Do you want to register to vote?” /5

That question gave us pause. It had never occurred to us to help Mohammed register. But in that moment, we felt it was important to help him have a voice through his vote this election and push back against the hate and mistreatment directed towards his communities. /6

Two memories, in particular, moved us to help him exercise this important right. /7

The first was the memory of Donald Trump taunting the disabled reporter at one of his events in 2017. Trump thought it was funny that the reporter was unable to stretch his arms and hands. /8

I remembered the anger and hurt that surged in me that day. My brother suffers from the same condition, you see; it felt like Trump was mocking my brother. It was one thing for Trump to demonize Muslims; it was another to bully the disabled. /9

But even worse is the harm he's done them since. Today, he’s putting their lives in serious danger with his abysmal management of this pandemic crisis. /10

The second memory was our experience as a special needs family at Bernie’s first rally in early 2019 in San Francisco. This was the first time I had taken Mohammed to a political rally, and he loved it. /11

The team provided exceptional ADA accommodations and went out of their way to make sure we felt comfortable and welcome. The crowd was spirited, and Bernie beamed with love from the podium, love that was inclusive of Muslims and people like my brother. /12

The contrast between those two memories drove our decision that day at the DMV. “Do you want to register to vote?” was the question. “Absolutely,” I thought, as I proceeded to help him register. /13

That’s when things started to align for me in ways that I hadn’t anticipated. I had what felt like a revelation: it was my brother that had been silently driving my life experience this whole time, from the Egyptian revolution right into this movement. /14

Sure, it was revolutionaries in our native Egypt who politicized me, and Bernie who activated me, but it was is my little brother—my sweet, immobile brother—who was mobilizing me towards my purpose; that purpose, I think, is in part to help him fulfill his. /15

Mohammed may not be able to speak, but he had his say in California…

Mohammed voted for mercy, the kind embodied by the man we named him after...

Mohammed voted for love, the kind that radiates from him when he smiles... /16

Mohammed voted for justice, the kind that's healing and restorative and that our planet and so many victims of the system need right now... /17

Mohammed’s vote was a prayer and so was ours as his family. #InshaAllahBernie is just one of the ways we’ve been expressing it the past year as Muslims. Say Ameen if you’re with us, and let’s keep fighting and praying. /18

Thank you, Senator @BernieSanders Sanders, for giving us this special moment with my brother, and for fighting so hard for us. You may not be our president, but you’ll always be our candidate❤️ /19

For any of you feeling moved to do so, I'd love your help amplifying Mohammed's voice with a share❤️
/END

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