SMFNews: Update: Eight Muslims Elected to Congress as Wahab Wins

Header photo: The U.S. Capitol, west front. Photo: Architect of the Capitol (public domain).

Rep. Aisha Wahab has won a full two-year term in California’s 14th Congressional District. Her race was the only federal contest involving a Muslim American candidate still being counted in SMF News’ Nov. 4 results roundup. With her win, eight Muslims have been elected to the next Congress.

The California race is called

The Associated Press called the race at 5:46 p.m. Pacific time (8:46 p.m. ET) on Nov. 6, according to KQED’s results page. With about 91% of votes counted, KQED’s AP count showed Wahab with 57.5% (120,060 votes) to 42.4% (88,461 votes) for Melissa Hernandez, a fellow Democrat and BART board director. CBS News also projected Wahab the winner.

Wahab won an August special election to finish the term of former Rep. Eric Swalwell, who resigned in April. The district covers Fremont, Hayward and the Tri-Valley. ABC7, with reporting from the Associated Press, noted that Wahab, who in 2018 became the first Afghan American elected to public office in the U.S. when she won a Hayward City Council seat, later became the first Afghan American elected to Congress.

A record eight

The Muslims elected to the next Congress are Sen.-elect Abdul El-Sayed of Michigan; Reps. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, André Carson of Indiana, Lateefah Simon of California and Aisha Wahab of California; and Representatives-elect Adam Hamawy of New Jersey and Darializa Avila Chevalier of New York.

Religion News Service reported on Nov. 4 that a record seven Muslims had been elected to Congress and that a Wahab win would raise the total to eight. RNS noted that the previous high for Muslims serving in Congress at the same time was five.

Orientation on Capitol Hill

Wahab was on Capitol Hill on Monday, Nov. 9, for orientation with more than 100 incoming House members, KTVU reported. She told the station that the sessions covered office structure, budgeting and “the everyday overhead work that needs to be done.”

— Aisha Wahab, U.S. Representative, California’s 14th District, Nov. 9, 2026, via KTVU

According to KTVU, the 120th Congress is scheduled to convene on Jan. 3, 2027. Results in California and other states remain unofficial until they are certified.

SMF News congratulates all eight and thanks every Muslim American who ran for federal office this year. This update does not endorse any party or candidate. For results on all 11 federal Muslim candidates, see our original roundup.

Sources

KQED, U.S. House District 14 results (AP call, Nov. 6, 2026); CBS San Francisco (Nov. 7, 2026); ABC7 / Associated Press (Nov. 7, 2026); Religion News Service (Nov. 4, 2026); KTVU (Nov. 9, 2026); SMF News, Nov. 4 results roundup.

SMF Thanks Baltimore County Schools for Keeping Eid al-Adha

Header photo: Loch Raven High School in Baltimore County, Maryland. Photo: Wallstreethotrod (public domain).

TOWSON, Md. — The Shia Muslim Foundation (SMF) has sent a letter of thanks to Baltimore County Public Schools and its Board of Education for keeping Eid al-Adha as a day schools are closed for students on the 2027–2028 school calendar, which the board adopted on Nov. 4.

In the letter, sent Nov. 9 to the board’s chair and members, SMF Executive Director Rahat Husain wrote: “On behalf of the Shia Muslim Foundation, I want to personally thank you for adopting the 2027–2028 calendar on November 4 with Eid al-Adha kept as a day schools are closed for students on Friday, May 5, 2028.”

What the adopted calendar says

The adopted Pre–Labor Day calendar marks Friday, May 5, 2028, as a systemwide professional development day for Eid al-Adha. Schools are closed for students that day, and teachers are on duty.

Under the same calendar, schools open for grades 1–5 and grades 6 and 9 on Monday, Aug. 30, 2027, and for grades 1–12 on Tuesday, Aug. 31. The calendar also lists Yom Kippur, Diwali and Lunar New Year as systemwide professional development days with schools closed for students.

— Baltimore County Public Schools, adopted 2027–2028 school calendar, May 5, 2028

Baltimore Sun reporting, carried by School Board News, confirmed the board’s Nov. 4 approval of the 2027–28 calendar. The board’s Nov. 4 agenda listed the proposed calendar as unfinished business, following a public hearing on Oct. 6.

Why it matters to Muslim families

“For Muslim families in Baltimore County, this is more than a scheduling decision,” Husain wrote in the letter. “It tells Muslim children that their schools see them and respect them.”

— Rahat Husain, Executive Director, Shia Muslim Foundation, letter to BCPS, Nov. 9, 2026

Eid al-Adha is one of the two major Eids that Muslims celebrate each year. When it falls on a school day, a closure means students can join family prayers and gatherings without missing class.

Parents, students and teachers spoke up

At the board’s Oct. 6 public hearing, parents, students, teachers and other community members urged the board to keep Eid on the calendar, Citizen Portal reported. Video and an automated transcript of that meeting are on the district’s meeting page.

SMF’s letter credited those speakers. “We are also grateful to the Board for listening to the parents, students and teachers who came to your hearings to speak about this,” Husain wrote. “Their testimony, and your willingness to hear it, are a good example of local democracy working for everyone.”

The letter closed with an offer of help: “Please let us know if the Shia Muslim Foundation can ever be a resource to the district.”

Sources

BCPS adopted 2027–2028 Pre–Labor Day calendar; BCPS Board of Education Nov. 4, 2026 agenda; Baltimore Sun via School Board News (Nov. 5, 2026); Citizen Portal (Oct. 6, 2026 hearing); BCPS Oct. 6, 2026 board meeting video; Shia Muslim Foundation letter to the BCPS Board of Education, Nov. 9, 2026.

SMFNews: Maryland Muslim Caucus Members Win Reelection

ANNAPOLIS — Three Muslim members of Maryland’s House of Delegates — the founders of the state’s Legislative Muslim Caucus — won reelection in the Nov. 3 general election, according to unofficial returns from the Maryland State Board of Elections.

Del. Sean A. Stinnett of Baltimore City District 41, Del. Sarah Wolek of Montgomery County District 16, and Del. Caylin Young of Baltimore City District 45 each kept their seats. Maryland Matters reported earlier this year that the three launched the Legislative Muslim Caucus in February, timed to Muslim Lobby Day in Annapolis.

What the returns show

In District 16, Wolek finished among the top three vote-getters in a race that elects three delegates, with 38,314 votes in the unofficial statewide tally.

In District 41, Stinnett finished second among the three winners with 24,704 votes.

In District 45, Young finished third among the three winners with 21,866 votes. Provisional ballots were still marked as not reported on the Board of Elections pages reviewed for this story.

Sean A. Stinnett — District 41

Del. Sean A. Stinnett. Photo: Maryland State Archives / Maryland Manual

Stinnett has served in the House of Delegates since March 2025 and chairs the Legislative Muslim Caucus. In an April interview with The Diamondback, he said he created the caucus to elevate Muslim voices and lived experiences in Annapolis.

— Sean A. Stinnett, Maryland House of Delegates, April 2026

At a March press conference covered by Maryland Matters, Stinnett said the caucus’s place among other legislative caucuses made its voice more valuable as lawmakers pushed shared priorities late in the session.

— Sean A. Stinnett, Maryland House of Delegates, April 2026

Sarah Wolek — District 16

Del. Sarah Wolek. Photo: Maryland State Archives / Maryland Manual

Wolek, appointed in 2023 and now reelected, is the first Muslim woman to serve in the Maryland General Assembly, a milestone noted by the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business when she was sworn in. She sits on the Appropriations Committee and was a member of the three-person Muslim Caucus this year.

— Sarah Wolek, Maryland House of Delegates, April 2023

During the 2026 session, Wolek sponsored legislation, supported by the caucus, to designate commemorative heritage months for Muslim Americans and Jewish Americans. At a March hearing, she told lawmakers both communities “have deep roots and history in our state,” according to The Diamondback.

Caylin Young — District 45

Del. Caylin Young. Photo: Maryland State Archives / Maryland Manual

Young, first elected in 2022, was reelected in District 45 and is one of the three founding members of the Legislative Muslim Caucus. Maryland Matters reported that when the caucus launched in February, Young thanked House leadership for arranging a room for Muslims to pray during Ramadan.

A caucus built this year

The Legislative Muslim Caucus became the General Assembly’s newest caucus when it launched on Feb. 16. Maryland Matters later reported that it joined six other caucuses — including the Asian American and Pacific Islander, Black, Jewish, Latino, LGBTQ+ and Women’s caucuses — in a joint “We are Maryland” push late in the session.

The three reelected delegates will return for the next legislative session with that caucus already on the books. Their wins sit alongside SMF’s earlier coverage of Muslim candidates for Congress and Muslim winners in state and local races nationwide.

Sources

Maryland State Board of Elections — District 16 results; District 41 results; District 45 results; Maryland Matters, Feb. 16, 2026; Maryland Matters, March 25, 2026; The Diamondback, April 24, 2026; University of Maryland Smith School, April 24, 2023; Maryland State Archives delegate pages for Stinnett, Wolek and Young.