Keeping the faith: Without truly representative democracy, all communities are less safe

A government of the people, by the people and for the people is held amongst the most lofty democratic ideals. As an imam and Columbus faith leader, my values dictate that our government should be working for all people, especially those living on the margins of society.

However, extreme gerrymandering and politics serving the interests of a few are making it more difficult than ever for many of us to use our personal political power to influence our representatives. Here in Ohio, district maps have been rejected and deemed unconstitutional multiple times by the Ohio Supreme Court due to partisan gerrymandering as election season approaches.

We currently have a ruling party that refuses to listen to all the people its members represent. As the Republican party has coalesced its power, it also has chosen to represent the interests of white Christian nationalists.

White Christian nationalism is a political movement that centers the interests of primarily white, conservative Christian men. White Christian nationalists believe America was founded as a Christian nation and needs to be taken back from non-whites and non-Christians.

Elected officials have thrown our democracy onto the precipice of chaos by aligning with this political movement. Using political power to only represent those who look, believe, and think like you is in direct opposition to the very idea of democracy.

This has life and death implications for everyone — with the marginalized bearing the brunt of this reality. From gun violence to abortion, those who are legislating from a white Christian nationalist framework are making life less safe for all communities.

As a man of faith, I am called to proclaim that everyone is deserving of dignity, personal autonomy and the moral agency to decide what choices are best for themselves and their families. For far too long, white Christian nationalists have dictated what this dignity, autonomy and moral agency should look like. However, we are a multiracial, multiethnic, and multifaith people.

Across Ohio, we see that the legislative choices of those who represent us are making us much less safe. Permitless concealed carry laws make our communities more dangerous. Common sense gun safety laws that would implement stricter background checks, outlaw assault-style weapons, and increase mental health funding are all incredibly popular nationally.

However, we have a party in power in Ohio that does not respond to the will of the people, but continuously tests the limits of their power for their own gain. And this does not begin and end with gun violence and the need for gun reform.

Reproductive justice means that pregnant people have the freedom to make healthcare decisions that are in the best interests of themselves and their families. Criminalizing healthcare through an abortion ban makes pregnancy less safe for women, and people in my community will die because they will not have access to abortion care.

This is not an abstract possibility; it is a fact.

Not only are these decisions unpopular with the larger electorate, they make us less safe. We know these laws will be used to criminalize those in our community who are the most vulnerable and, likely, most in need of grace. Taking away these nuanced choices from people, many of whom already lack access to healthcare, will mean more suffering and death.

Despair abounds, but hope remains.

American organizer and educator Mariame Kaba, reminds us that “hope is a discipline.” We have the ability to make a daily choice to take action, large or small, that moves us closer to a community that honors the dignity of all and operates from a space of love.

Ohio is diverse and filled with people of all races, faiths and beliefs. It is incumbent upon us to come together to fight back against those forces that would rather we not have a voice, a vote, or a say in how we are represented.

Imam Horsed Noah is the outreach director of the Somali Islamic Centers of Ohio.

Keeping the Faith is a column featuring the perspectives of a variety of faith leaders from the Columbus area.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Column: When leaders don't represent diverse groups, all are less safe