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Why young Muslims are using a messaging app to pray for Bernie Sanders

 

It’s no secret that many Muslims are fans of Sen. Bernie Sanders, so much so that some affectionately call the 78-year-old Democratic presidential candidate “Uncle Bernie.”

So when the news broke that Sanders had suffered a heart attack in October, Hamzah Raza kidded on his Instagram account about setting up a group to read the Qur’an for the senator.

“You know, like if your real uncle ended up in the hospital, you would recite the Qur’an on his behalf and pray for his health and recovery,” said Raza, a 23-year-old Islamic studies student at Harvard Divinity School.