President Barack Obama, for a while seemed to be running away with his re-election race perhaps until late last month. However Gov. Romney’s strong performance at his first debate with President Obama, on Oct. 3, shifted the momentum a bit for the race for the White House.
At recent “Al Smith fundraising dinner,” President Obama quipped about his poor performance at the first presidential debate, where he said he had “a nice, long nap” that left him well-rested. “Although it turns out millions of Americans focused in on the second debate that didn’t focus in on the first debate – and I happen to be one of them.”
President Barack ‘Hussain’ Obama also made a joke about his Muslim middle name and the president said that as the dinner was an occasion to focus on what he and Romney has in common, “beginning with our unusual names. Actually, Mitt is his middle name.” He paused and added, “I wish I could use my middle name.”
His Muslim middle name may not help him in politics, but his lackluster performance in first debate for sure seems to be helping Muslim American community in getting some attention in the media and political corridors.
The election this year, especially in some key battle states like Michigan, Ohio, Virginia, Pennsylvania and Florida, seems very close and in situations like this a Muslim block vote can make a big difference both on local level in key battleground states and on the national level.
According to a report released last month by the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding, a non-partisan think tank based in Washington, the Muslim population in the U.S. is very diverse, and they do care about host of issues like civil liberties, the economy, health care and the education. Muslims definitely want to participate in the political process, and they’re paying attention to domestic and international events.
According to a survey released on Oct. 24, about a quarter of registered American Muslim voters are still undecided, and about 91 percent of those registered voters will go to the polls on Tuesday.
Muslims truly are a swing block vote which in a close election becomes very important. In a recent article, titled “Will a Muslim pick our next president?” Catholic Online supports my viewpoint this way,
“Many Americans assume Muslims are anti-Republican and pro-Obama. However this is not always the case. In 2000, many more Muslims voted for Bush than Al Gore. Although after the war in Iraq, Muslims did flock to the Democrats with ninety percent voting for Kerry and similar numbers for Obama in 2008.”
Catholic Online further states: “What should be understood is that Muslims are swing voters, and diverse. While many Americans tend to stereotype the group, many American Muslims are modern, cosmopolitan, and politically savvy.”
Post 9/11 Muslims are constantly victimized through an organized effort by various self interests and hate groups with guilt by association. It is also often seen that when some politician is getting close to the Muslim community they get attacked for being weak on national security and other usual rhetoric by these usual groups.
Catholic Online in the same article recalls, “On multiple occasions, Republican candidates made incendiary statements about (Islam) Muslims, with Herman Cain going so far as to pledge against appointing Muslims to his cabinet, a violation of Article 6 of the Constitution, which prohibits religious tests for political office. For the record, Cain later reversed his position.”
At the same time Catholic Online further writes, “Newt Gingrich made the claim that the Palestinians were ‘invented’ people, and adds: “Michelle Bachmann gained points among constituents, and lost them among Muslims, by proclaiming Sharia law as a threat to the U.S., and professing that Muslims are organizing a stealthy movement to impose the practice on Americans. This in spite of the fact that most American Muslims don’t even practice the strict, ultra-conservative brand of Islam.
Most of these politicians wrote off seven million strong Muslim community and the Muslim vote to please their base. The politicians become very hawkish when it comes to the religion of Islam and Muslims in America and the affairs in the Muslim world, hence their inflammatory rhetoric during the Republican primaries. However, in a close general election this year, it may come back to bite them.
Muslims are a part of American landscape, they are loyal to this great country of ours and they are here to stay. According to the Pew Research Center, by 2030, the number of Muslims living in America is expected to more than double. Hence it is clear that the Muslim population is going to continue to grow and as a result possibly become a bigger player in the electoral game.
American Muslims are starting to understand this and also they are realizing that they have to get better organized to protect their rights.
— Khalid Saeed is National President of American Muslim Voice, a group working to build bridges with other communities.
Source: Daily Democrat
