RALEIGH, N.C. — Muslim civic groups across North Carolina are building a thicker political infrastructure, registering voters, interviewing candidates and coordinating month to month as the state Muslim population grows.
North Carolina now has about 130,000 Muslim residents, the 11th-largest such population in the country. The Council on American-Islamic Relations expanded into the state in 2023 to serve that growth, and several organizations now meet monthly to share initiatives and backstop one another.
The Muslim American Public Affairs Council has issued endorsements for the 2026 primaries after meeting candidates, hosting forums where possible and reviewing races against its endorsement guide. The group listed endorsements that include North Carolina 4th Congressional District and the Wake County district attorney race, and it says it only endorses where it has enough information to choose.
In Charlotte, the Charlotte Muslim Caucus was founded in 2023. Organizers map early voting sites near mosques, run Prayers to the Polls turnout events and interview candidates before deciding on endorsements. Last year the caucus backed JD Mazuera Arias, who defeated incumbent Marjorie Molina by 34 votes to win a Charlotte City Council seat.
Electoral breakthroughs remain recent. Durham County Commissioner Nida Allam became the first Muslim woman elected to office in North Carolina in 2020. Advocates also point to state-level recognition: former state Sen. Larry Shaw helped secure the right for Muslim elected officials to take their oaths on the Quran, and gubernatorial Ramadan dinners for Muslim leaders began in 2018.
Organizers still describe the work as uneven. Political capacity is stronger in some metro pockets than as a single statewide machine comparable to the largest issue lobbies, and turnout and candidate engagement can lag when races feel distant from daily life. The push now is to keep voter contact, candidate forums and mutual aid among groups running election after election.
