Key Black Muslim group backs Kamala Harris for president over Gaza stance

Kamala Harris has won the backing for her presidential bid of a key US Muslim organization that had declined to endorse Joe Biden before he withdrew from his re-election campaign.

The group is the political action arm of the non-profit organization the Black Muslim Leadership Council, which was created in March to put pressure on the Biden administration to call for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.

The move signals growing support for a Harris presidency from Democratic groups that were reluctant to support or were outright against another Biden term.

Although Muslim Americans make up a small percentage of the electorate, they can prove to be crucial in battleground states in which they represent a large swath of the population.

Harris has repeatedly called for a ceasefire in Gaza and a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine as the way forward to achieve sustainable Middle East peace.

A movement to vote uncommitted in the Democratic presidential primaries took off in swing-state Michigan and spread, garnering more than 700,000 ballots for the uncommitted cause.

The Uncommitted National Movement is pushing for representation at the Democratic national convention later this month in Chicago.