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American Muslims, and their Christian and Jewish neighbors, recently learned a lesson about “unfinished democracy” when Vice President Al Gore announced that Senator Joseph Lieberman would be his running mate in his bid for the presidency. Almost every American Jew received this piece of good news with joyous sound. The same thing, however, could not be said about the Muslim community, whose reactions were complicated by a number of factors and can be placed into three categories.
The first reaction is held by a group of Muslims whose reactions are typically colored more by events transpiring in the Middle East than by their personal experience or knowledge of Lieberman. These persons view the Senator as just another Jew with sentiments that lie within the heartland of Zionism; therefore, for this and other related reasons, they do not expect him to treat the Palestinian question with fairness and impartiality. These members constitute a significant portion of our community. Their fears and anxieties about Gore’s selection of Lieberman cannot be described as simply a figment of their imagination; rather, they are strongly rooted in their historical and personal experiences. This view is challenged by the other two more moderate reactions.
The second view is that Senator Lieberman’s selection is the culmination of a series of gains made over the last century by American Jews. Advocates of this position would point out that since the appointment of Justice Brandeis by President Woodrow Wilson in the early part of the 20th century, Jews have made more progress in America than in any another country (looking at the time period following the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem by Roman General Titus). Another point made by this group is that Lieberman is just another prominent Jew whose success has underscored the admission of American Jewry into the mainstream of our society. This reality is hard to swallow when you perceive events in America as an extension of the political conflict between Palestinians and Israelis, between Arabs and Jews, between Muslims and Zionists.
The third view is that of moderate Muslims who see Senator Joseph Lieberman as an ethnic Jew whose ideological commitments make him just one more member of America’s multi-ethnic, multi-religious ruling class. Not looking at “reality” through religious lenses, and convinced that the American political class is not dictated by religious beliefs and sentiments, these Muslims share with other Americans a conviction that what matters in this case is not Senator Lieberman’s religion, but rather, his moral and political sensitivities to the poor, the homeless, the handicapped, the elderly and the youth of our society. Though they might note his strong ethnic commitment to the Jewish community, they regard such sentiments as natural. In their view, one cannot expect the Senator to be any less committed to Israel than are secular Jews in the U.S. These Muslims anticipate Senator Lieberman as likely to struggle to convince his fellow Americans that he is more American than he is Jewish.
In my view, these three different attitudes regarding the selection of Senator Lieberman underscore the political realities within the Muslim community in the U.S. Our presence in America has come to be recognized by the major political parties, both of which invited a Muslim leader to bless their party conventions with an Islamic prayer. This is a far cry from the old days when candidates from the Democratic and Republican parties avoided Muslim political activists as if they were lepers. Things have changed for both Muslims and Jews.
Although it is premature to compare the status of the two communities at this time, there is reason to believe that Muslim progress within the American political system stands to increase once the election of orthodox Jews becomes a fact of life. In light of this, I would say that perhaps, in many years to come, the modest gains of Muslims today will grow exponentially through the elaborate and complex process of political bargaining and compromise. This has been the way of the Republic since its founding. Those who do not wish to be “corrupted” by the political process will continue to live in their cocoons. However, while they exercise their right to do so, they should leave those Muslims who choose to engage in the political system alone. In the long run, we will all, Insha’Allah, return to our Maker to account for our deeds here in this sublunary world. Whether we are Jewish or Muslim, Catholic or Protestant, believer or unbeliever, we must all eventually surrender to the verdict of the Hereafter. Senator Lieberman’s selection and our reactions as Muslims are indeed a part of the American saga.
Any Muslim leader supporting either the Democratic or Republican Party (or any of the independent candidates) in the forthcoming elections must attempt to engage these three broad categories of potential Muslim voters if they are to significantly sway our community before Election Day. Few in the first category are likely to be convinced that Senator Lieberman should be judged not by his religion, but by his parliamentary record. In this context, the statements of American Muslim Council Executive Director on Beliefnet.com on August 10th, can serve as an important point of entry for the Muslim voter who wishes to know the Senator’s record.
I do not personally know the Senator; however, I would venture to say that his commitment to his faith and his record of moral responsibility within the U.S. Senate (and in Washington, DC, which is increasingly being called Hollywood East) have convinced me that he would make a good vice president. He has the experience and the political sagacity to lead Protestants, Catholics, Jews and Muslims. Kennedy, a Roman Catholic, did so forty years ago.
Senator Lieberman’s selection should galvanize Muslim voters – not because they want to vote against a Jew, or the Democratic ticket – but rather to take advantage of this opportunity to send a message to America that Muslims too celebrate the openness of the political system, and the potential for all groups to participate in it regardless of their religious background. The possible election of an American Orthodox Jew is a strong message to Americans, and others abroad, that although the system began with certain imperfections, the American people and their leaders have combined their moral, political and intellectual resources to substantially improve its track record (since the end of World War II). Anti-Semitism and Islam-phobia, American Muslims should argue, have common origins in Western society. The defeat of one of these monsters within one arena of our society could, with hard work, result in their banishment from all other arenas where prejudice and discrimination are commonplace. I am not naive enough to believe that this can happen overnight. On the contrary, American Muslims must climb the same mountain of moral and political challenges that other discriminated-against groups have climbed in order to reach their goals. There is no better time for American Muslims to define and stake their claims than during the current election
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