American Muslims are bullish on and involved in their nation

Chris Nevarez just graduated from UIC and is applying to law school - his Mexican American parents in Hanover Park are deeply proud. Chris worked for hours each week leading phone banking and making sure residents of all backgrounds understood the importance of the 2020 elections.

Ashfaq Syed is a finance professional in Naperville and an immigrant from India. Since the primary election in March, he sent texts to hundreds of friends and neighbors to vote.

Deena is half Jordanian, part white, part Cherokee - and all American. She and her husband participated in their first census as a married couple and then both worked to get the vote on the IL Muslim Civic Coalition team.

Yaasha is a Black woman raised by Chicago parents in the Ethiopian Jewish tradition. They taught her to use her voice and make sure her vote counts. She led rallies, protests and civic engagement efforts.

Chris and Ashfaq are not yet citizens - but hope to be soon. All of the Americans introduced above identify through multiple frames of race, ethnicity, class and background. They all also identify as Muslim, the most diverse faith community in the nation. Muslims have been part of the American story for 400 years; millions were brought to the colonies from Africa in chains during the slave trade.

In a recent study, the Institute of Social and Policy Understanding (ISPU) revealed that American Muslims are more civicly engaged than ever before. And despite dangerously increasing discrimination, bullying and Islamophobia, American Muslims are more optimistic about the future of this country than many other Americans. To put it succinctly, American Muslims are bullish on their nation - they believe in America.

This optimism is rooted in and supported by effort. We are co-founders of the Illinois Muslim Civic Coalition. The coalition and its more than 100 partner and ally organizations - representing Muslims, Christians, Jews, Hindus and secular residents - directly connected with more than 150,000 residents during census and voter engagement outreach. We work with national groups such as Emgage; regional allies such as ICIRR, PAVE and Rainbow PUSH; and local groups in Dupage, Lake and eight counties across the state.

Our teams were composed of retired elders, parents with little children and students living at home during COVID college closures. They made calls and then headed out with PPE gear on to distribute thousands of census and voter information literature drops. The coalition also aired dozens of webinars to share information on "civic sense" (like common sense but in the civic space), early voting and vote-by-mail leading up to the November election. And while we are one of the most active American Muslim civic groups in the country, our story is not unique. Our counterparts across the nation in states such as Texas, Georgia, Michigan, California, Virginia and Utah have been doing the same.

Muslims are serving our nation, helping our neighbors, being civic justice activists. American Muslims already serve as doctors, teachers, Uber drivers, factory workers, business owners and union members. They have expertise in every sector. Today, we are in the right place at the right time, and we hope to be strong partners in the diverse coalition that charts the future of this great nation.

Today, we are all struggling with paying the rent or mortgage, making sure our families have health care, staying safe- and dealing with emotional stress. Add to this that American Muslims, Latinx, immigrants, Jews, Native Americans, the LGBTQI and our African American brothers and sisters have been the objects of vitriol and hate for too long in our diverse nation. Protecting our collective right to be here and to thrive here, as well as our intense desire to serve our nation in any way we can - will help make America even greater. The weeks ahead will be critical for the success of our democracy. We are working toward a peaceful transition - and hoping to heal a nation - toward reveling in our diversity while focusing on our unity.

• Reema Kamran, of Elmhurst and Dr. Dilara Sayeed, of Chicago, are co-founders of the IL Muslim Civic Coalition, www.ILMuslimCivicCoalition.org, a partnership of hundreds of influencers and organizations empowering the voices of marginalized and often invisible communities.