“All they are trying to do is convince us that there is some kind of movement toward where we want,” Siblani said. “But it’s too slow and it’s dragging. It’s more death and casualties that are happening.”

The highest-profile example of the stonewalling came last week when a Palestinian American doctor walked out of a meeting with Biden. But interviews with Muslim and Arab American leaders reveal how that face-to-face protest was only the most conspicuous case of a fracture that has damaged crucial relationships and closed avenues needed to repair them.

But the situation presents a challenge for a president who believes in the political power of personal relationships and has prized his history of sitting down with opponents and critics. It could also jeopardize his reelection this year, with some Muslims warning they are unwilling to support Biden even it that risks returning Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, to the White House.

Salam Al-Marayati, who lives in Los Angeles and leads the Muslim Public Affairs Council, described the attitude as, “Forget them. They have to learn a lesson. And if they lose, that’s the lesson they should learn.”

  • Flying Squid
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    03 months ago

    The other guy is going to be worse. That’s the point. Sacrificing the bad for the worse is not a smart strategy.

      • Flying Squid
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        13 months ago

        It’s already been established that you are not part of “we” even though you say “we.”

          • Flying Squid
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            13 months ago

            Sure, if by “we” you mean people who will continue to have all of their citizenship rights after Trump is elected and will not suffer any major repercussions due to being cishet and white. Donald Trump definitely considers you part of that “we.”