Stephen Harper’s absence on the website for the Canadian-Muslim Vote is hard to miss.

In August, the grassroots organization working to increase voter turnout in the Muslim community sent invitations to all four federal party leaders asking them to send a video message to be posted on the website encouraging the community to engage in the political process.

“We are still awaiting a response from the Conservative Party of Canada,” says the message on the website for the non-profit and non-partisan organization, where Harper’s video would have appeared, alongside those of the other three main party leaders.

In the meantime, the CMV has been working frantically with a handful of non-profit groups in the Muslim community over the past six months to get their own message across to the masses: this could be the most important election the community has ever faced.

“We are not here to rally any sort of political agenda or Muslim agenda,” said Muneeza Sheikh, and a volunteer with the CMV, which launched its campaign on Good Friday, when over 20 imams urged their congregants to vote.

“We are really here to do whatever we can to make it easy for people to shed their concerns, laziness, or apathy, and simply go out to vote,” said Sheikh, a partner with the law firm Levitt & Grosman LLP.

One example of CMV’s efforts is a poster campaign, launched at the congregational Friday prayers on Good Friday — one of the most well-attended prayer services of the year. They used the image of a Muslim with a thick black line and a powerful caption over her mouth, to catch the attention of Muslim voters.

“I gave up my voice last time. Not this time,” reads one poster.

“You speak loudest when you vote,” says another.

Historically, the Muslim community has had a lower voter turnout compared to other faith groups. While official numbers are hard to find, Ottawa based economist and researcher Daood Hamdani published a report in March that found the Muslim voter turnout rate in the 2000 federal general election was 46.5 per cent — 25 per cent less than Christians and Jews.

Using the 2002 Statistics Canada Ethnic Diversity Survey, the Muslim voter turnout was also 19 per cent lower than Hindus and 14 per cent less than Sikhs. Voter turnout for the general population in 2000 was 61.2 per cent, according to Elections Canada.

But this election, the message of political engagement seems to be gaining traction.

The momentum is being driven by a few things: a growing population including nearly 100,000 youth who have turned 18 since the numbers were last tabulated in 2011, an increased number of first-generation Canadian-Muslims (around a third of the population), and, most importantly, the controversial discourse of the government around the faith.

“There has been a lot of negative political rhetoric around Islam and Muslims,” said Amira El-Ghawaby, a spokeswoman for the National Council of Canadian Muslims, which is co-sponsoring a federal debate called “Young, Canadian and Muslim: Making our ballots count” taking place Friday evening at the Aga Khan Museum. The 500-seat event sold out in two days, and was advertised only on Facebook. The event will be live streamed by Rabble.ca and viewing parties for the debate are expected to be held across the country.

“This political rhetoric will get the attention of Muslims, because it impacts them. It has an impact how they are perceived by their colleagues and peers, and it has an impact on their sense of belonging,” El-Ghawaby, adding that discussion around the niqab, Bill C-51, ISIS, and the plight of Syrian refugees are just some of the concerns of Muslim voters.

“Most are worried about the same things as others: employment, poverty, health care and the environment,” she said. The NCCM is also preparing to publish and distribute an election primer laying out the party positions at mosques and community centres across the country.

Mohammed Hashim, a volunteer with a non-profit group Dawanet that initiated Friday’s debate, says the government’s attitude has given up the community a “wake-up call.”

“I think people have generally been scared to be politically engaged in the community, and they have come to believe that their vote doesn’t matter,” he said. “We are all here, trying to tell them, yes, it does,” he said.

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But Tahir Gora, an independent journalist, who managed to get face time with Stephen Harper last week for an interview on his television show on TAG TV, which airs over IPTV, says the increased political engagement is just a numbers game.

“Like every community, the Muslim community is getting bigger, and as they are settling down, they are becoming involved in politics,” said Gora. “Muslims in Canada are divided, some think they are being targeted by the Conservatives, others support the Conservatives,” he said. “There is no real consensus,” negating the notion of a bloc “Muslim vote.”

Sheikh agrees. She says that’s why the CMV has stressed the non-partisan nature of its organization.

“There are people who say, well, Muslims are being used as a political footballs, or we know how the Harper government feels about Muslims,” she said. “But our goal is not to isolate people. The core objective of our organization is simple: just to encourage people to go out and vote.”

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