American Muslims and Presidential Elections 2008

These are challenging times for Muslims around the world for more than one reason but from challenges sometimes triumphs can come to fruition as well. Post 9/11 Muslims living in the west were under severe scrutiny. Some of it was probably justified but mostly it was paranoiac and reactionary which in some instances resulted in oppressive and unfair treatment. But by and large Muslims that follow the law of the land and live in peace are still more prosperous, freer in practicing their religion and enjoy more civil liberties in west than in some so called Muslim countries. If you doubt that than you wouldn’t be able to explain an absence of any mass migration of Muslims from west to their native lands, on the contrary, given the dismal human-rights condition and corruption thru out the Muslim world, immigration to west is still the most attractive and lucrative game in the business. Another fact that is interesting and its something that I have iterated on these same pages before is that every year 20,000 Americans are converting to Islam, most of who are women. So if west was truly threatening to the religion of Islam than I think they should have done something to curb this phenomenon. That’s not to say that everything is hunky dory in Washington. I don't, and 73% Americans don't either so I have a little company.

Disagreeing with American foreign policies doesn't really mean that you are against 'us'. That stupid train has thankfully left the station and hopefully it won’t return in Nov. 2008. Please understand that most likely the next president of USA would probably be someone who is not too hot about current American Foreign policy so American Muslims should not be afraid about their discontent and should be vocal about their angst at the American foreign policy.

This is still a good country. By and large it won't threaten your freedoms and your rights as a citizen as long as you don’t break the law of the land. It is of utmost importance that American Muslims are active, vocal and seen in these next very crucial presidential elections. We should be smart as well. As a religious community it is not a good idea to put all your eggs in one basket and make enemy out of an entire party, especially in a 2 party political culture. Take a page from the playbook of Jewish community. They play both sides of the field in a calculated manner and no matter whether it’s a democratic win or a republican win, it’s a win win for them.

But first thing first. This is a democratic country, so it’s all about the elections baby! People who are running in elections are only loyal to one thing and one thing only and that is, who is going to ensure their seat in Washington? We need to make sure that American politicians realize that we are a voting community. According to gallop there are somewhere between 6-8 million Muslims living in America and that number is on a steady rise. Our average household income is around 60K which is no chump change either. Our community is almost as big as the Jewish community. I am not suggesting that it’s a lost cause if we don’t enjoy the same influence in American politics as they do but what I AM suggesting is that we need to stand up and be counted. Muslim citizens should register to vote and they should participate in the entire electoral process as much as humanly possible. And I say this because it’s this process and people that will go to Washington thru this process that can ensure our freedoms, viability and civil rights as a community for our future generations. Not only because it’s the right thing to do, but they will have an added incentive if we are there voters.

It was hardly 40 years ago or maybe even less that a black man could not drink water from the same fountain in this country and in about less than a year there is a good likelihood that one will be a president of this country. It’s a beautiful thing. My religion teaches me to be an optimist. I don’t have a crystal ball but I see good things for American Muslims as a community in future, provided that we follow the law of the land and we become part and parcel of this community. I think the leadership of Muslims in this country has realized that in order to thrive as a community we have to get out of our cocoons and engage the community at large. If we are not out there representing our community than understand that there is never vacuum in these situations. People who hate us, the Daniel pipe's of the world will fill this gap with Ayan Hirsi and Irshad Manji on one hand and the crazy man with a beard from some foreign country on the other. Both of these extremes don't represent us as a community or as a religion. ISNA (Islamic Society of North America) is the largest organization of Muslims in America, membership hovering in millions. Ironically the president of this organization is a woman born and raised in Connecticut, one Ms. Ingrid Matson. The largest Muslim student organization of America is Muslim Students Association, membership in hundreds of thousands thru out campuses in USA headed again by woman born and raised in Michigan. I know that we as a religious community has a long way to go when it comes to give women there God-given rights and respect but I would say for a supposed anti-woman religion, we have made some strides.

I find it laughable that ‘they’ present Ayan Hirsi as some sort of Islamic Scholar when she is a self proclaimed atheist. This woman was wronged by Muslim individuals, no doubt about that and I condemn the atrocities that were committed and she has every reason to be bitter, but that alone can't make you an authority on Islam, that’s absurd. American Media and the well-wishers of this country should realize that when you play these types of dirty games and malign an entire religion for the wrong-doings of few, you marginalize and alienate an entire community which is 1 billion strong in numbers. This can not be a good thing from anyone's perspective. And those who repeatedly insist on alienating an entire community and therefore are trying to create a rift, whether they are extremist that have long beards or the ones that are in suits in Washington and tell Aviv, they are no friends of America, this should be crystal.