Moe Ladha says too few Muslims exercise their right to vote.
His organization, Canadian Muslim Votes, estimates that 21 ridings in Ontario could have been decided by Muslims who didn’t turn out to vote.
The national, non-profit, non-partisan organization aims to change that.
Of the one million Muslims in Canada, only 35-45 per cent vote. That’s consistently lower than in other religious communities, according to Canadian Muslim Votes.
Ladha pointed to the results of a survey the group conducted. It lists three reasons for lower Muslim turnout at the polls:
- Many Muslims don’t come from a voting culture.
- Some think voting won’t make a difference.
- Many Muslims just don’t know how to cast a ballot.
Ladha stressed, however, that the Muslim vote is a diverse one, and are split on many issues.
One of those issues is the niqab issue. Ladha said he speaks to many women who wear it, and many who don’t.
“Many Muslims feel disengaged. They feel misunderstood, or left out,” he said.
“Being part of the conversation means not just being reactionary. You’re involved in the forming, the expressing of an opinion, and also in sharing that views on issues aren’t uniform to a community.”
Speaking Friday on Metro Morning, Ladha said the reasons why many Muslims don’t cast ballots are often not much different that the causes of voter apathy throughout the country.
“They’re very similar to Canadians in general,” he said.
Ladha said his work is focused on speaking to people in the Muslim community and walking them through what they need to do to cast a ballot.
“Let us help you to understand the mechanics [of voting], how do you do it, what do you need in order to be able to go in do it,” he said.
His group is trying to get Muslims to vote this weekend at advance polls.