Assalamu alaykum - the first Muslim woman running for governor of Georgia: why she's doing it
Assalamu alaykum. Rava Raman, a member of the Georgia state legislature, became the first Muslim woman ever elected in the state’s history, and she’s now running an unprecedented campaign for governor.
She was born in Jordan to a family of Palestinian refugees and grew up in the U.S. She says she wants to offer a new kind of leadership in the South - one based on social justice and an honest stance on important global issues, including the Palestinian question.
She explains why she decided to run, how she’s managing relations with the Democratic Party, what her platform is, and how she deals with the pressure that comes from her identity and from discrimination.
After more than 20 years of Republican rule, Rava saw it was time to act: rural hospitals are closing, the quality of education is slipping, and the minimum wage stays at $5.15 an hour, which doesn’t allow people to live with dignity.
Her goal is a movement that puts people’s interests above corporations: higher wages, reopening hospitals, supporting small businesses, and child nutrition programs. She says this is not just politics, but a fight for justice.
When she announced her run she was afraid of sounding naive, but thousands of volunteers from more than 40 counties showed up - and that’s when Rava realized she wasn’t alone. The party hasn’t officially stepped in yet, and her campaign is built on mobilizing young people, immigrants, Muslims and Arabs.
Georgia is now a “majority‑minority” state, but many of those people don’t participate in primaries. Rava wants to give a voice to those who haven’t been heard and to train volunteers who will then demand reforms and hold power accountable.
She says she was inspired by truly grassroots campaigns where social media recognition is backed by a big field operation and volunteer training - that’s when a movement can win, even against money and influence.
On her relationship with the party after the incident when she was barred from speaking at the 2024 convention for mentioning Gaza: the party is not united. In local groups, like Gwinnett County, there are progressives she supports, but at the national level, she says, there’s a gap between leadership and the base. When politicians aren’t allowed to speak about the suffering of children in Gaza, it undermines trust among many voters.
On the economy: people are fed up, and even some Republicans admit how hard the cost of living is. If Rava becomes governor, she promises to file bills from day one through her allies in the legislature. The plan is a gradual increase of the minimum wage to $15: faster for big corporations, slower for small businesses with delays and tax breaks. Also, reopening rural hospitals that closed because the state refused to expand Medicaid - which she says is both humane and economically smart.
After the campaign launched, well‑known Islamophobe Laura Loomer attacked her and Loomer’s supporters harassed Rava online, but the public reaction turned out differently - she got a wave of support from Georgia and other states. Rava admits there are people who hate and won’t change, but many simply didn’t know her, and when they learn about her - attitudes change.
Her message to Muslims, Arabs and all minorities is simple: every vote matters. Examples - a city council member won by 4 votes, and Biden won Georgia in 2020 by a narrow margin statewide. “If you think your vote doesn’t matter - that’s exactly what your opponents want,” she says.
Rava started as a volunteer in 2014, when many thought Georgia would be Republican forever. Six years later a lot had changed thanks to organized work, and to preserve these changes people need to keep participating and fighting through civic engagement.
And to finish - a warm reminder: Arabs and Southerners in the U.S. are a lot alike - we’re united by faith, family and dignity. The differences, she jokes, are only in how people drink their tea: hot or iced.
Insha’Allah, if everything comes together, this campaign will give a chance to hear those who were silent before.
https://islamnews.ru/2025/10/1