Bernie Sanders has announced to run again for the US presidential elections in 2020. There has been a lot of fuss over this in the international media.
However, he has made headlines yet again for picking a Muslim from Pakistani origin to run his election campaign. The individual, Faiz Shakir, is the first Muslim to serve as the campaign manager for a major presidential campaign.
A Democratic operative, Shakir, had been serving as the national political director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) since 2017. He has remained quite vibrant in this role, developing and implementing strategies to push forward the ACLU’s goals.
Now, he has decided to leave this role to help the socialist Democratic Senator with his presidential campaign. 39-year-old Shakir is being dubbed as ‘the face of the first Muslim American to run a presidential campaign ever’ by masses.
A son of Pakistani immigrants, Shakir grew up in Florida. He is a graduate of Harvard and Georgetown University Law Center. He holds a bachelor’s in government at Harvard, as shown by his LinkedIn profile.
Shakir started off as a junior staff researcher for John Kerry’s campaign in 2004. Later, he became the vice president for communications at the Center for American Progress.
Before joining the ACLU, he remained the senior advisor to Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid as well. Prior to that, he was Senior Advisor and Director of Digital Media for Nancy Pelosi.
He may have limited experience in running campaigns, but he is well connected to the party’s think-tank infrastructure, its progressive dynamics, and its Congress operations.