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Muslims and Super Tuesday
By Dina Rashed
Several major Muslim organizations have taken steps this year, for the first time, to strengthen the Muslim presence in American politics. On October 23rd, the American Muslim Political Coordinating Council Political Action Committee (AMPCC-PAC) endorsed the Republican candidate for president, George W. Bush. But what challenges face this endorsement?
The media has mentioned that the head of the alliance, Mr. Agha Saeed, hopes that by making a formal endorsement, the participating organizations will create a unified Muslim electoral bloc. It is not certain, of course, at this time whether this effort will achieve its desired purpose or not.
As of late, there has been somewhat of a revival of the American civil rights movement amongst Muslims - with different organizations working to empower Muslims in various aspects of American life, to have our rights fully respected and exercised within our society, and to strengthen our political presence here.
American Muslims are being strongly urged to register, get to know both national and local candidates, confer with members of their local communities, and vote for the candidates they see as most likely to address their interests, come November 7th. One of the slogans that Ali Abouzakouk, executive director of the American Muslim Council, has long used is, "If you are voteless, you are weightless."
I feel it is only natural and logical that these organizations would then provide additional guidance to the six to eight million Muslims in the U.S., many of whom have followed their advice, by publicly endorsing the candidate they consider best qualified to serve our interests. However, I can perceive the possible disadvantages of making such an endorsement at a stage when our civil rights movement is still in its infancy.
One such backlash is if Bush does not deliver - given that his promises in the first place resemble more of an "I will look into it" or "I will work to ensure respect for the law and for all law-abiding citizens," as in his videotaped statement to the American Muslim Council on October 26th regarding the use of Secret Evidence. Many American Muslim immigrants who are still new to the democratic process and who follow this endorsement believing that, by doing so, everything will turn out just fine, might then become disillusioned - as they wait for Bush to wave a magical wand (that he has never claimed to have anyway) and make discrimination against Muslims disappear.
A speech written by Richard Curtiss and delivered at the 5th Annual National American Muslim Alliance Convention in Irvine, California this past September 30th said, "If Muslim voters demonstrate the discipline this year, in such a close election, to turn out their communities to vote, and vote as a bloc, and publicize their vote, the United States will never again be the same. Its Middle East policy will become evenhanded, for the first time since the creation of Israel. U.S. South Asia policy may also be liberated from the current influence of the Israel-Indian alliance. And there will be a weapon to use against the pernicious culture of drugs, sex, and violence emanating from Hollywood, and actually driving many Muslims to send their children back to their original homelands to protect them during their formative years."
This, of course, is an extreme oversimplification of reality. The road toward having our rights fulfilled as American Muslims in the U.S. is long and bumpy, and requires an accurate assessment of our capabilities and our potential as well as a recognition of those groups that are threatened by our political and economic empowerment.
Another disadvantageous of this endorsement could be the resulting belief that it will produce a unified Muslim voting bloc for the first time. However, given that we as Muslims in the U.S. do not have identical interests, speaking of a unified vote is another oversimplification.
For one, most European American Muslims differ from most Arabs and Indo-Pakistanis in their views of the presidential candidates and which one will best serve their interests. The whole concept of racial profiling is not as relevant an issue for them, nor that of secret evidence.
Middle Easterners are targeted by law enforcement officials on the basis of their skin color, their names and other distinguishing features. Bosnians, Albanians and other European Americans, on the other hand, do not stand out as much because of their physical characteristics; therefore, they are less frequently suspected of terrorism and singled out for harassment at airports and other public places.
Different ethnic groups among American Muslims respond differently to the various issues confronting our larger community. For instance, there is a wide spread belief within the Bosnian community that the two main presidential candidates show roughly equal support for Israel in the issue of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. They perceived their debates as a contest to demonstrate which of the two is more closely allied to Israel and to the American Jewish community.
According to my observation, few European American Muslims showed up for the protests against Israeli abuses in the occupied territories in Chicago. This does not mean that they are not supportive of Muslim/Arab rights, but they are preoccupied with their own problems - the situation in the Balkans and their decade long fight against a vicious dictator in Yugoslavia.
They are not only more inclined to vote against Bush because they feel he would continue his father's legacy of ignoring the Balkans, but they are inclined to vote for Gore and Lieberman because of their positions on the need for American troops in this "hot" part of Europe, particularly in Bosnia Herzegovina and Kosova. Not only does Gore defend the American presence there, but vice presidential nominee Joseph Lieberman has a strong record, in the Senate, of supporting Bosnia as well.
Lieberman was one of the Democrats who voted for the lifting of the arms embargo against Bosnian Muslims so that they could defend themselves against efforts of ethnic cleansing. Both he and Gore have expressed a belief that the war against the Bosnians and Albanians has been encouraged, to say the least, by the apathetic and passive American response to the actions of Slobodan Milosevic since the beginning of the 1990's.
Bush's position on the role that American troops should play in peacekeeping missions in the Balkan region differs drastically.
How the African American Muslim community will vote on Super Tuesday is another unclear issue. Aminah McCloud, professor of religious studies at DePaul University in Chicago and a prominent African American Muslim who has written extensively about the African American Muslim community, says there is a communication gap between Muslim immigrants and the African American Muslim community.
With the exception of Palestinians who have lived amongst and interacted with African Americans, in most cases new immigrants - particularly Arabs and Indo-Pakistanis - prefer not to live in Black neighborhoods and interact with Blacks; rather, they prefer to stay within their own communities, or to assimilate with Whites.
Muslim immigrants were not very supportive of the African American civil rights movement. Their participation in the war against crime, drugs and other ailments in Black communities has been minimal.
African Americans as well, be they Muslims or non-Muslims, have their own agendas - which may include racial profiling, but a perhaps bigger focus for them is the larger issue of affirmative action. They have historically voted for Democrats because of their positions on affirmative action and civil rights.
This lack of communication and interaction between African American Muslims and immigrant communities was readily observable in the last ISNA convention held in Chicago, where the attendance of African American Muslims was less than 10% of the more than 30,000 attendees.
For all of these reasons, it is unclear whether the endorsement of George W. Bush by AMPCC-PAC will really result in a unified voting bloc of Muslims.
While it is good that we are working to develop and implement tactics to strengthen our political presence in America, it is the long-term strategies that we put into action that will significantly empower us politically and economically. Misinforming or disillusioning their support base has proven fatal to several young movements; hence, working to gradually raise the cultural and political awareness of our community through educational efforts and programs, particularly targeting our youth, is crucial.
I don't believe that there is any disagreement among American Muslims on the need to come to a unified stand regarding what is in our best interests as an Ummah; however, it will take considerable time to close the gaps between our various ethnic communities and to build a unified voting bloc. We desperately need more communication between our various groups, and there is an even greater need for us to grow closer on the basis of our shared faith and commitment to enjoin good and eradicate evil.
After all, this is what our faith is all about - love of humanity and ensuring justice for all. This is our shared responsibility.
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