Democrats Court Vote of Disgruntled U.S. Muslims
Tue December 23, 2003 02:18 PM ET

By Caroline Drees
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Three years after Muslim Americans
overwhelmingly voted for George W. Bush, democratic presidential
candidates are courting these disenchanted voters in hopes of winning
millions of backers in key states.

"I want to earn the support of Muslims and Muslim leaders across the
United States," Sen. John Kerry, a Democrat from Massachusetts, told a
major Muslim conference outside Los Angeles last weekend.

"I very much hope for your support," Democratic front-runner and
former Vermont governor, Howard Dean, told the same meeting, the
Muslim Public Affairs Council annual convention.

Dean, Kerry and Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich all called in from the
campaign trail, and the audience was receptive.

Angered by post-Sept. 11 legislation like the USA Patriot Act which
Muslims feel discriminates against them, upset about wars against two
Muslim countries, and frustrated by a perceived pro-Israeli bias in
Middle East peacemaking, many U.S. Muslims are shifting their
political allegiance.

This marks a sharp turn from previously widespread sentiment that the
Republicans under Bush would support Palestinian aspirations in the
Middle East.

Bush had in the past aggressively courted the Muslim vote, and the
traditional pro-business stance of Republicans had also appealed to
many middle class Muslim voters.

With Bush's approval ratings at 59 percent -- the highest since August
-- disgruntled Muslims and leading democratic candidates hope this
nontraditional voting bloc could swing the election in major states
which have large Muslim populations such as California, New York,
Florida and Michigan.

"I think that this November we will see American Muslims coming to the
polls in unsurpassed numbers," said MPAC executive director Salam
al-Marayati.

"This is due to actions our elected leaders took in response to 9/11
as well as the dramatic increase in voter registration drives and the
large number of American Muslim youth who have become eligible to vote
since the last presidential election," he said.

U.S. census statistics do not detail religious affiliation, and
unofficial estimates vary widely. Islamic groups say there are around
6 million American Muslims.

American Muslims endorsed and strongly backed Bush in 2000, a decision
many criticized after Sept. 11, 2001, when they say anti-Islamic
sentiment began to rise.

"Today I go to mosques and many people tell me they'll vote for ABB --
anybody but Bush," said Hossam Ayloush, head of the Council on
American-Islamic Relations in southern California.

A straw poll among the 800 MPAC delegates showed more than 67 percent
planned to vote for Dean, compared to just 2 percent for Bush. Upon
hearing the poll results, one delegate said, "How did Bush manage to
get 2 percent?"

Aslam Abdullah, an activist and head of the Muslim Electorates'
Council of America, said his surveys in seven key states showed
two-thirds of 1.7 million Muslim voters backed Bush in 2000.

He said the size of the Muslim electorate had now jumped to almost 3
million, thanks to massive voter registration drives, a large number
of new citizens and an increase in Muslim-Americans who have reached
the voting age of 18.

Yahya Basha, a staunch Republican and a prominent Muslim leader in
Michigan, said Bush could still win the Islamic vote, but had to do
more to court it.

"It is going to be a challenge," he said. "I'd hate to see them giving
up on that community ... I think there is potential and they (the Bush
campaign) should do a bit more to reach out."

----------------------------------------------------------------------
"Madmen reason rightly from the wrong premisis" -- Locke

"In this world, which is so plainly the antechamber of another, there
are no happy men. The true division of humanity is between those who
live in light and those who live in darkness. Our aim must be to
diminish the number of the latter and increase the number of the
former. That is why we demand education and knowledge." -- Victor Hugo

"There are two sides to every issue: one side is right and the other
is wrong, but the middle is always evil." -- Ayn Rand

Pluralitas non est ponenda sine neccesitate -- William of Occam

Joseph R. Darancette
res0mp8t@NOSPAMverizon.net