Politics: A Muslim candidate’s unconventional strategy<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Jackson Heights resident Mujib Rahman wanted to be the first Bangladeshi elected to New York's City Council. His strategy: tell voters about his opponent's sexuality. On election day, he was outvoted nearly 3 to 1.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/2009\/11\/a_muslim_candidates_unconventional_strategy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Politics: A Muslim candidate’s unconventional strategy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Jackson Heights resident Mujib Rahman wanted to be the first Bangladeshi elected to New York's City Council. His strategy: tell voters about his opponent's sexuality. On election day, he was outvoted nearly 3 to 1.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/2009\/11\/a_muslim_candidates_unconventional_strategy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"altmuslim\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2009-11-13T05:00:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.altmuslim.com\/ee_images\/mujib_rahman.png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Guest Contributor\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Guest Contributor\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/2009\/11\/a_muslim_candidates_unconventional_strategy\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/2009\/11\/a_muslim_candidates_unconventional_strategy\/\",\"name\":\"Politics: A Muslim candidate’s unconventional strategy\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2009-11-13T05:00:04+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2009-11-13T05:00:04+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/#\/schema\/person\/2869b699bf0e57982cb1f212243705f2\"},\"description\":\"Jackson Heights resident Mujib Rahman wanted to be the first Bangladeshi elected to New York's City Council. His strategy: tell voters about his opponent's sexuality. On election day, he was outvoted nearly 3 to 1.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/2009\/11\/a_muslim_candidates_unconventional_strategy\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/2009\/11\/a_muslim_candidates_unconventional_strategy\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/2009\/11\/a_muslim_candidates_unconventional_strategy\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Politics: A Muslim candidate’s unconventional strategy\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/\",\"name\":\"altmuslim\",\"description\":\"Global perspectives on Muslim life, politics & culture\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/#\/schema\/person\/2869b699bf0e57982cb1f212243705f2\",\"name\":\"Guest Contributor\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5010a3cc274cdb37811bf24de46dc280?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5010a3cc274cdb37811bf24de46dc280?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Guest Contributor\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/author\/admin\/\"}]}<\/script>\n","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Politics: A Muslim candidate’s unconventional strategy","description":"Jackson Heights resident Mujib Rahman wanted to be the first Bangladeshi elected to New York's City Council. His strategy: tell voters about his opponent's sexuality. On election day, he was outvoted nearly 3 to 1.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/2009\/11\/a_muslim_candidates_unconventional_strategy\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Politics: A Muslim candidate’s unconventional strategy","og_description":"Jackson Heights resident Mujib Rahman wanted to be the first Bangladeshi elected to New York's City Council. His strategy: tell voters about his opponent's sexuality. On election day, he was outvoted nearly 3 to 1.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/2009\/11\/a_muslim_candidates_unconventional_strategy\/","og_site_name":"altmuslim","article_published_time":"2009-11-13T05:00:04+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.altmuslim.com\/ee_images\/mujib_rahman.png"}],"author":"Guest Contributor","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Guest Contributor","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/2009\/11\/a_muslim_candidates_unconventional_strategy\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/2009\/11\/a_muslim_candidates_unconventional_strategy\/","name":"Politics: A Muslim candidate’s unconventional strategy","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/#website"},"datePublished":"2009-11-13T05:00:04+00:00","dateModified":"2009-11-13T05:00:04+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/#\/schema\/person\/2869b699bf0e57982cb1f212243705f2"},"description":"Jackson Heights resident Mujib Rahman wanted to be the first Bangladeshi elected to New York's City Council. His strategy: tell voters about his opponent's sexuality. On election day, he was outvoted nearly 3 to 1.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/2009\/11\/a_muslim_candidates_unconventional_strategy\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/2009\/11\/a_muslim_candidates_unconventional_strategy\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/2009\/11\/a_muslim_candidates_unconventional_strategy\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Politics: A Muslim candidate’s unconventional strategy"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/","name":"altmuslim","description":"Global perspectives on Muslim life, politics & culture","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/#\/schema\/person\/2869b699bf0e57982cb1f212243705f2","name":"Guest Contributor","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5010a3cc274cdb37811bf24de46dc280?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5010a3cc274cdb37811bf24de46dc280?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Guest Contributor"},"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3405","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3405"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3405\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3405"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3405"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3405"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}

<\/div>\n

<\/p><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

In a video for Time Magazine, filmmaker Bassam Tariq chronicles the final days of the campaign for Mujib Rahman, Republican candidate for New York\u2019s City Council, District 25. Rahman, a Bangladeshi immigrant, campaigned against his opponent, Daniel Dromm, by charging that he had a gay agenda<\/a>, a stance that Dromm found ironic. \u201cImagine if I said that Mujib was promoting a Muslim agenda?\u201d says Dromm. \u201cWhat is a Muslim agenda? There is no Muslim agenda. Muslim people want the same thing as everybody else.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Election Day, November 3rd, Rahman lost by nearly three votes to one<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Bassam Tariq<\/a> is a New York-based writer and filmmaker. Along with Aman Ali, he is the creator of the 30 Mosques, 30 Days<\/a> project, which documented the month of Ramadan as seen in 30 of New York City\u2019s mosques.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"