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Muslims in America: The Challenges of Political Activism
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An American Muslims engagement in political activism; a group of Muslim American Society in New York marching in a Parade. |
Every election year Muslims in the United States begin to ask which party they will support and which candidate they will vote for. Not that Muslims have ever submitted a bloc vote, or even issued an endorsement of a candidate, except the endorsement for Bill Clinton issued by American Muslim Council in 1996. Nevertheless, we are always contemplating these issues.
Another question that is continuously submitted to the community through various media concerns is the objectives of Muslims as a community. What would we vote for? What are the interests of Muslims locally, nationally, and internationally? How do we determine our objectives and set priorities? Who is accountable for the success or failure of such efforts, and what person or group should lead us through these uncharted waters? Such simple determinations have escaped us. They cease even to entertain us once the elections are completed and the newly elected representatives of all the people, except the Muslims, are sworn into public office. We then begin another four year campaign of 'reactionary' political activity designed to vent frustration, but seldom to make change. Perhaps our failure to answer the questions satisfactorily explains why the majority of Muslims do not vote what might be called a "Muslim ticket" and why neither Democrats nor Republicans generally work hard to garner the Muslim vote.
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Dr. Ahmed YousefExecutive Director, UASR (United Association for Studies and Research), Inc. and Editor-in-Chief, Middle East Affairs Journal.
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