Arab-American volunteers sit at a sign-in table (AFP)

DEARBORN, United States (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – Arab Americans, feeling ostracized and betrayed since the 9/11 attacks, are determined to show they can be a mighty political force and key players in this year's presidential election.

Several organizations have rallied Arab-American voters, including the Arab American Political Action Committee and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), while the message has also been relayed in mosques and churches, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported Friday, February 6.

"Yalla -- vote February 7!" read a sign written in English and Arabic that was posted in a major street in Dearborn, a Detroit suburb.

Although Dearborn looks nothing like an Arab city; still, this industrial suburb is considered the Arab-American community's capital with 300,000 people of Arab origin from 22 different countries.

Voter registration campaigns have already shown encouraging results in New York, Florida and California, according to organizers.

"The country's three million Arab-Americans could represent a considerable political force," said Imad Hamad, Michigan director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC).

He asserted that Arab-Americans have never figured as political players since the September 11 attacks.

"The impact of 9/11 was huge for us. This period has been very difficult," added Hamad.

Hate crimes against Arab-Americans were reported throughout the country after the terror attacks and U.S. authorities have questioned and detained hundreds of Arab-Americans.

"Many members of our community have been caught in the middle of the government's war on terror. [But] We have managed to prevail more determined to show that we are Americans like everybody else, with the right to be proud being American," the ADC chief said.

"The only solution was: be part of the process. Express your rights as American citizens and register to vote," added Hamad, a Lebanon native who moved to the states in 1980.

Although foreign policy and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict figure high in their list of concerns, Arab-Americans seem more worried about domestic issues like the economic situation and unemployment rates.

Analysts said that the economic situation could cost incumbent President George W. Bush the votes of Arab-Americans, who supported him in 2000.

According to CAIR, 78 percent of Muslims voted Republican in 2000.

It was a departure from previous elections, when the community tended to side with the health and education policies of the Democrats.

Sign-Up Drive

CAIR seized on communal prayers and joyful celebrations of Eid Al-Adha last week to launch voter registration drives for the Muslims in preparation for the upcoming elections.

A team of volunteers roamed the crowd, or manned booths, signing up those qualified to vote.

Parvez Ahmad, CAIR'S representative in Florida, said the voter registration drive is a significant change for the community and that local efforts will continue until election time.

"I think Muslims are realizing the importance of becoming a full participant in American democracy," said Ahmad.

A major push for Muslim voter registration drive was on at similar gatherings throughout the country, said the news network MSNBC.

"It's a perfect opportunity for people to exercise their responsibility and become more politically aware," said Hasan Mansouri, government affairs coordinator for CAIR.

"Never before have the stakes seemed so high for Muslim Americans," he said.

Jamal Gabobe, a U.S. citizen born in Somalia who has been in the country for decades, says he is registering to vote for the first time in 2004.

"There are a lot of issues coalescing, with the Iraq war and the war on terrorism. Being a Muslim, even if you are not interested in politics, you have to react, to be heard," said Gabobe, who teaches comparative literature at the University of Washington.

According to Nuom Fariz, a long-time citizen who was born in Jordan, this is the most political interest she has seen in the U.S. Muslim community since her arrival in 1973.

The Democratic presidential race to the White House has already begun in a number of states across the country.

Front-runner Senator John Kerry took gaining last week five huge steps towards winning the Democratic presidential nomination.

The Democratic race gathered steam as Bush looked increasingly vulnerable.

A U.S.A Today/CNN/Gallup survey Monday, February 2, showed Bush’s popularity down 11 points in a month to below 50 percent for the first time in his presidency.

Approval of Bush's handling of the Iraq war had plummeted from 61 percent to 46 percent.