US Muslims Promise To Express Anger at Polls

Society Pakistan & World Affairs
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Don’t forget to register.

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Associated Press
Tuesday, September 2, 2003; Page A02

CHICAGO, Sept. 1 – American Muslim leaders, stung by the government’s scrutiny of their community during the domestic hunt for terrorists, have pledged to express their anger at the polls.

Leaders of the Islamic Society of North America announced plans Sunday during their annual meeting to register 1 million Muslim voters and make civil rights a top issue in any endorsement of a presidential candidate.

“A defining moment of Islam in America is approaching,” said Nihad Awad, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a civil rights group based in Washington. “We cannot surrender our future and our destiny to hate in this country.”

Muslim leaders made their first unified endorsement in a presidential race in 2000, backing George W. Bush. Many thought he would take a harder line against Israel and, based on statements he made while campaigning, would protect the rights of immigrants facing deportation.

Muslims said they have been bitterly disappointed on both counts.

After the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, Bush won points with American Muslims by visiting a mosque and declaring Islam a peaceful religion.

Since then, the federal government has detained hundreds of immigrants, closed U.S. Muslim charities suspected of terrorist ties and gained broad powers to monitor citizens under the USA Patriot Act.

The Bush administration said these moves have been crucial for U.S. security. American Muslims say they are being scapegoated.

Estimates of the number of U.S. Muslims vary from 2 million to 6 million, but immigrant Muslims generally are professionals able to make significant campaign donations.

By focusing on civil rights in 2004, Muslim leaders acknowledge they could end up endorsing a candidate who would disagree with them on foreign policy, particularly on backing the Israeli government over the Palestinians.

But Muslim leaders said they must be pragmatic as they seek greater influence in government. They pledged to broaden their alliances by working to improve education, fight crime and protect the environment.

“We are not a one-issue community,” Awad said.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A12054-2003Sep1.html

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Excellent! More power to them.

There is nothing that would sooth world tensions more than for Muslims worldwide to see American Muslims actively participating in American politics.

Having worked for the only Lebanese-American (Christian) woman ever elected to congress, I can guarantee you that Arab/Pakistani/Muslim voices would be a welcome addition to the debate. Detroit probably has a large enough concentration of Muslims to elect someone at a national level. Don't know if there are other districts where there are large bases of support, but I bet that the Census Dept would have the info.....

Ballots Beat Bombs.

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Supreme court rulings beat all.

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Supreme court rulings beat all.

George Bush agrees....

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Small stepping stone.
I hope the AIPAC doesnt have a cardiac arrest :D

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I like it, it's good to see people "rocking the vote" instead of "fighting tanks with rocks"

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Excellent.

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[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Ohioguy: *
Excellent! More power to them.

There is nothing that would sooth world tensions more than for Muslims worldwide to see American Muslims actively participating in American politics.

.
[/QUOTE]

OG you are correct, however there will always be that cynical minority which has basically already written US muslims out as sell-outs, which is farthest from the truth..

and then again, idiots like Al qaeda dont give a damn, if they were interested in the well being of muslims they would have done something constructive, they are simply interested in their own power.

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Fraudz,

Certainly OBL is going to do what he wants to do, regardless of the political fabric of the US. It's the other 99.9% of the Worlds Muslims that might think twice about their opinions if they saw a Muslim in a political leadership role. Certainly the Saudis, the Syrians, the Iranians should all see strong powerful Muslims working with other Americans, rather than throwing rocks from the outside.

Ironicly the structure for political activism bears a strong correlation to the political activism of the Jews and the Religious Right. The system of mosques throughout the US can easily be used to organize and communicate grass roots opportunities for change. If every Mosque in the country held a fund raiser, invited the local press, invited the currently elected representatives, and raised 10k each, they could have one heck of a Politcal Action Committee started next year. Times 2000 Mosques, that would be 2mil of campaign funds. Pretty good start.

If Muslims represent 6% of the US population, they are a powerful voting block.

Years ago there was an lobbying group for the Elderly based in South Dakota called the 100,000 Club. They RULED South Dakota politics. Oddly enough they did not have anywhere near 100,000 members. 100,000 was actually the count of the TOTAL number of elderly people in South Dakota. Even the perception that Muslims would represent 6% of the Nations voting population would give an organization a lot of clout. Shoot, 6% of the population is 18Mil, which is one heck of a lot bigger than the NRA.

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What happened to Civil rights before 9-11 huh? I was toiling for the ACLU for 4 years, not one muslim in sight, suddenly the community has “awoken” when the heat got too much :disgust:

Call AIPAC whatever you want but if you know anything about lobbying they ARE the benchmark. They have consistantly fought for many issues going beyond Israel, issues affecting everyday lives of their constituents from having Jewish holidays recognized to working on crime prevention. Before, the Muslim community used to harp about the ME..hello? How about joining up with minority groups to demand representation of Muslims? Working with and God forbid the Jews to protect and support non-Christian houses of worship?

They can talk about broading the agenda, but until the averge Muslim American gets beyond the fact that hey gets a dirty look at the airport, this effort will be futile.