Frequently Asked Questions

  • Muslim Civic Coalition-Activate endorses candidates who promote civic justice, champion peace, combat supremacist ideology, and demonstrate local impact.

    • Promoting Civic Justice: Advancing social justice, economic justice, immigrant justice and labor justice.

    • Championing Peace: Prioritizing community safety. Limiting weapons to foreign governments. Opposing taxpayer-funded attacks on civilians at home and abroad.  

    • Combating Supremacist Ideology: Confronting all forms of supremacy including white supremacy, Hindutva and Zionism. Protecting Muslim and Palestinian constituents amidst rising hate. Ensuring inclusive representation of all racial, ethnic, and religious identities in their administration. 

    • Local Roots: Demonstrating deep community engagement and track record of local impact. 

    We also consider at the time of endorsement additional factors including candidates’ relationships with other organizations and individuals, our capacity to offer fieldwork and more. Learn more about the criteria and full process, and our endorsed primary winners.

  • Our endorsements for the 2026 primaries were:

    1. Based upon the criteria and process mentioned above

    2. Aligned with our strongest pro-justice and pro-Palestine community leaders, as well progressive champions in Congress

    3. Rooted in our organization’s core objectives to increase civic engagement among those who have not traditionally been engaged in the political process and support candidates from our base and community

    Bushra Amiwala is one of our own – a homegrown public servant from the district – and we stand by the value of building long-term power through persistence and participation.

  • For future primaries, especially those with crowded progressive fields, we will push for consolidation among the candidates. As convenors and connectors in the community, we will urge those candidates to sit down together and discuss the best path forward for advancing a true progressive candidate. 

    The 2026 primary was a historic election with more open seats than we’ve seen in 70 years and several contentious and high-profile races influenced by corrupt dark money and corporate interests. You can read 7 Takeaways from the Contentious Illinois Primary Races for a full list of takeaways we’re carrying into the general election.

  • No. We are a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization. We engage in political work and build relationships with elected officials, but when we support campaigns, we do not coordinate with them in the way a PAC can. This structure allows us to focus on our independent civic and community mission.

  • Yes. Political work involves national resources and strategy aligned with local efforts – which include other local organizations and community leaders. 

    A winning strategy requires neighbor-to-neighbor organizing grounded in local perspectives and priorities, with strong partnership from national leaders – especially in crowded, high-stakes races.

  • Coalition-Activate is funded by the community – those who believe in our mission and are invested in building long-term political power with our community. We do not accept contributions from special interest groups.

  • We don’t just endorse. We get out the vote. We go door to door, neighbor to neighbor to reach our community members. 

    Through targeted door-knocking and phone banking, Coalition-Activate reached nearly 5,000 voters, many of whom were low-propensity voters who participate infrequently in elections. Muslim civic organizations and faith leaders are more engaged than ever before. And despite typically low-turnout midterm primaries, we saw increased awareness and engagement from our community.

    We’re gearing up now for the General Election in November. Stay updated by following us on social media at @coalitionactivate.