The Emgage Foundation, Inc. (formerly Emgage USA) is a Muslim-American advocacy and voter mobilization group. It is associated with Emgage PAC, a political action committee that raises money for and endorses candidates for Congress and state legislative seats. Emgage Foundation also has a 501(c)(4) affiliated organization Emgage Action. ¹

Voter Mobilization Activities

While the Emgage Foundation was founded in 2008, it became more active during the Trump administration, especially after the administration restricted immigration from certain Muslim-majority countries in 2017. In the 2018 mid-term elections, Emgage was involved in voter education and mobilization efforts such as candidate forums, registration drives, and distributing the results of candidates’ surveys in states such as Michigan, Florida, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, where there are sizeable Muslim communities. The group also supported the campaigns of now-U.S. Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) and Ilhan Omar (D-MN), the first female Muslims elected to Congress, as well as non-Muslim left-wing candidates such as then-Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum (D), who lost a race for Florida governor that year. ²

After the 2018 elections, Emgage released the results of voter analysis claiming that it had contacted more than 130,000 Muslim voters in the states of Florida, Michigan, Ohio, and Virginia. Its analysis showed that turnout among Muslim voters in those states jumped 25 percent from 2014, as compared to a 14 percent increase in voter turnout generally. The CEO of Emgage, Wa’el Alzayat, claimed that “Had Muslims voted in 2016 at the rate that they voted in 2018, most likely [Michigan] would not have gone to Trump” in the 2016 Presidential election. ³

Emgage says it intends to increase its Muslim voter mobilization efforts in several states in the 2020 election cycle, along with direct candidate support of both Muslim and non-Muslin candidates through Emgage PAC, which has begun recruiting Muslim candidates for state and federal office. ⁴ The group now has state directors in Florida, Michigan, Texas, Pennsylvania, and Virginia to direct voter mobilization efforts. ⁵

The group is part of Field Team 6, a coalition of lobbying and state election advocacy organizations working towards registering more Democrat voters within key swing states and counties before the 2022 Midterm Elections. ⁶

Other Political Activities

In the run-up to the 2018 mid-term elections, the Emgage Foundation was involved in efforts to enact changes to the laws governing the redrawing of Congressional district lines in Michigan. ⁷ Ultimately, Emgage and other advocacy groups were successful in passing Proposal 2, a ballot measure transferring control of the redistricting process from the Michigan state legislature to “independent citizens’ commissions.” ⁸

Emgage opposed the 2018 nomination of CIA director and former Kansas Congressman Michael Pompeo to be U.S. Secretary of State. Alzayat told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that Pompeo “has a disturbingly high level of ease in vilifying Muslims.” ⁹

In 2019, Emgage called on the U.S. Olympic Committee to boycott the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing over the Chinese government’s mass detention of Uighur Muslims in western China, calling the detention program a “campaign of ethnic genocide.” ¹⁰

In 2020, Emgage criticized President Trump for re-tweeting a doctored photograph of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY). The manipulated photograph purported to show the two in traditional Arab dress, standing in front the of Iranian flag and criticized Democratic leaders for opposing the targeted killing of Iranian Quds Force leader Qasem Soleimani. ¹¹

People

Wa’el Alzayat is the chief executive officer of the Emgage Foundation. He served for ten years as a policy advisor in the U.S. Department of State, including as senior policy advisor to Obama administration U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power and Syria Outreach Coordinator. He also also served as a Provincial Affairs Officer for Anbar, Iraq at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad from 2007 to 2008. Alzayat is an adjunct professor at the Georgetown School of Foreign Service. ¹²

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9. Ari Shapiro. “Why Mike Pompeo’s Views On Muslims Keep Coming Up In His Confirmation Hearing.” National Public Radio. April 20, 2018. Accessed January 25, 2020. https://www.npr.org/2018/04/20/604423913/why-mike-pompeos-views-on-muslims-keep-coming-up-in-his-confirmation-hearing
10. Daniel Marans. “Top Muslim Group Calls For U.S. Boycott Of 2022 Winter Olympics In Beijing.” Huffington Post. November 26, 2019. Accessed January 25, 2020. https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/emgage-olympic-boycott-protest-china-uighur-treatment_n_5ddc8a78e4b0d50f3295852a
11. Elana Schor. “Trump use of doctored Pelosi-Schumer photo draws Muslim ire.” Associated Press. January 14, 2020. Accessed January 25, 2020. https://news.yahoo.com/trump-doctored-pelosi-schumer-photo-215929208.html
12. Maimah Karmo. “10 Inspiring Arab-American Leaders To Watch In 2017.” August 16, 2017. Accessed January 26, 2020. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/10-inspiring-arab-american-leaders-to-watch-in-2017_b_598fae2ce4b0ed1f464c0b5a