Trump earns endorsement from ‘highly respected’ Muslim leaders in battleground state

Former President Trump earned endorsements from “highly respected” Muslim leaders and Imams during a campaign rally in the battleground state of Michigan. 

Trump, speaking to a crowd in Novi, Michigan, on Saturday afternoon, called the group of Muslim leaders “highly respected,” before bringing them onstage.

“I’m thrilled to accept the endorsement of these highly respected leaders,” Trump told the thundering crowd.

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The group of leaders cited Trump’s commitment to ending wars and ensuring global peace as a primary reason for their support, describing him as a leader who “promises peace, not war.”

“We, as Muslims, stand with President Trump because he promises peace, not war!” Imam Belal Alzuhairi said. 

“We are supporting Donald Trump because he promised to end war in the Middle East and Ukraine,” Alzuhairi said. “The bloodshed has to stop all over the world, and I think this man can make that happen. I personally believe that God saved his life twice for a reason.”

Republican presidential candidate former President Trump stands with local leaders of the Muslim community as they endorsed him onstage during a campaign rally at the Suburban Collection Showplace in Novi, Mich.  (Drew Angerer/AFP via Getty Images)

Mayor Bill Bazzi, the first Muslim and Arab American elected mayor of Dearborn Heights, Michigan was also present at the rally to express support for Trump.

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“We’re going to stop the wars, we’re going to make the United States safe again, and we’re going to make the world safe,” Bazzi said.

“What a nice endorsement,” Trump said after Bazzi’s speech. “These are great people.”

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks as Hamtranck Mayor Amer Ghalib listens at a campaign office, Oct. 18, in Hamtranck, Mich.  (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

The Muslim leaders official endorsement came after Amer Ghalib, the mayor of the Detroit-area suburb Hamtramck, announced his support of Trump in a Facebook post on Oct. 20.

“Though it’s looking good, he may or may not win the election and be the 47th president of the United States, but I believe he is the right choice for this critical time,” Ghalib wrote in Arabic on his Facebook page. “I’ll not regret my decision no matter what the outcome would be, and I’m ready to face the consequences. For this, and for many other reasons, I announce my support and endorsement for the former, and hopefully, the next President of the United States, Donald Trump.”

Hamtramck Mayor Amer Ghalib, 43, in his City Hall office in Hamtramck, Mich., Sept. 10.  (Salwan Georges/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Ghalib’s endorsement of Trump comes after the two met in Flint earlier this week for a private 20-minute conversation. 

Ghalib told The Detroit News that Trump “knew a lot about me before the meeting.” 

“We talked about various topics including the debates, the polls updates, the statistics of votes in Michigan and Wayne County, the Arab American concerns and the Yemeni Americans in particular. We also talked about the situation in Yemen,” Ghalib said. 

Republican presidential nominee former President Trump dances on stage during a campaign rally Saturday in Novi, Mich. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images))

Swing state status

The critical swing state of Michigan has seen record-breaking early voting numbers so far.

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According to data on the Michigan Department of State’s dashboard, over 1.2 million voters in Michigan have already cast a ballot in this year’s election, taking advantage of either early voting and mail-in balloting, while shattering the previous record for early ballot returns in the state.

Fox News Digital’s Bradford Betz and Michael Lee contributed to this report.