Dalia Mogahed makes a case for the importance of the American Muslim vote in her speech in Chicago last month at the MAS-ICNA Convention.

In the build-up to the 2016 US Presidential elections, 2015 has been a difficult year for most Muslims in America.

This past year, we have seen a recent rise in Islamophobia in both politics and media.

This dangerous shift in rhetoric, from marginal groups to presidential debates, constitutes a dangerous future for the Muslim community.

The Muslim community will be in a great disadvantage if we do not respond and actively participate in the upcoming elections; both local and national.

Reflecting on the story of Saul in Chapter 2 of the Qur’an, Dalia Mogahed compares it with the situation of Muslims in America today facing the Goliath of Islamophobia, hatred, fear-mongering, racial profiling and police brutality.

American Muslims must vote because that is their responsibility for building a better country based on justice.