Sajid Tarar

CLEVELAND—The unlikeliest supporters of a once-unlikely candidate had their moment in the spotlight Tuesday night, as Sajid Tarar, the founder and leader of a group calling itself Muslims for Trump led a blessing at the Republican National Convention.

“Let us pray again to get our country back,” Tarar told convention delegates hours after Donald Trump officially secured the Republican presidential nomination.

Some delegates held their hands up in prayer as Tarar invoked the Prophet Muhammad  to ask God to bless Donald Trump and bring the United States a strong leader. Tarar’s group says Donald Trump is revealing harsh truths about immigration and terrorism, speaking to the Muslim community in a way no one else can.

The moment was an unusual milestone in a campaign marked by Trump’s controversial comments about the threat of terrorism and Muslim immigration.

Trump has said that “Islam hates us” and has proposed that authorities monitor U.S. mosques and register Muslims in a national database.

“I will suspend immigration from areas of the world where there is a proven history of terrorism against the United States, Europe or our allies until we fully understand how to end these threats,” Trump said after the Islamic State-inspired attack in San Bernardino, California, last year that killed 13 people.

Trump also criticized his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton following a mass shooting in Orlando, Florida, last month.

“If Hillary Clinton, after this attack, still cannot say the two words ‘radical Islam,’ she should get out of this race for the presidency,” Trump said.  Clinton maintains it is more accurate to speak of “radical Islamism,” depicting an ideological rather than a religion.  

While Trump has often made controversial statements about terrorism and Muslim immigration, he has also made clear he does not believe all Muslims are terrorists. He told Fox News in an interview earlier this year, “You’ve got fabulous Muslims. I know many Muslims. They’re fabulous people. They’re smart. They’re industrious. They’re great.”

The use of the phrase “radical Islam” is just one of the issues that attracts Tarar – and others in the group Muslims for Trump – to the Republican’s candidacy.

“The safety of America is No. 1 priority for Donald Trump, and as a Muslim-American, it’s my No. 1 priority as well,” Tarar told VOA earlier this month.

Republican outreach

Tarar says the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee have welcomed Muslims for Trump and is seeking ways to work with the group in the general election.

Muslims for Trump is connected to the National Diversity Coalition for Trump, an organization that met with representatives from the RNC in early July to discuss outreach to minority voters in November.

Muslims for Trump: Sajid Tarar, Founder of American Muslims for Trump, delivers the benediction at the conclusion of the second day of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Tuesday, July 19, 2016.

Tarar is vague when asked about the size of the group and and acknowledges that Muslims have been less welcoming of the organization. Muslims for Trump appears not to have a dedicated website and has  been “liked” by only about 550 people on its Facebook page.

Tarar, a Pakistani-born U.S. citizen, has pushed back against accusations he’s a traitor and accepting money from Trump in return for his support.

“I say [to those critics] ‘Look, you are a victim yourself – you are being killed, your relatives are being killed, your kids are getting killed – and this is not what Islam is about,’ ” Tarar told VOA. He argues that perceptions of the Republican Party have not caught up to reality.