American Muslims and Presidential Elections 2008

Romair,

(for example, i doubt usa would have been in iraq if gore had been president......)

Al Bore wud have been the Prez had not the Am Momins not voted en masse for Rep to avoid electing a Jew VP!!!

Regards

fuzair #: you are correct......american politics (normally) works on political pressure groups and not on pesonal morality.......however, it helps if the person in the white house has some knowledge of the world, so he can decide the lesser wrong of two wrongs that are offered to him.....

bush was, basically, a front for cheney and the neo-cons.....one only has to hear a few of his speeches and the goof-ups he makes to realize how dim-witted he happens to be.......

so while obama will continue realpolitik, i assume he will not make the huge blunders that bush made (i don't see how anyone else can).......for example, i doubt usa would have been in iraq if gore had been president......

the aim is to kick bush out.......and the republicans out....in fact, americans are just about ready to kick them out, themselves.....

people like me had been suggesting, for a long time, that the usa would be at its weakest, by the time bush left......and this has proven to be true......

it has lost a major war.....it is on the verge of losing another.....it has had huge financial crises at home......its leading industrial institutions are looking to rich arabs for bailouts.....etc. etc.......granted, not the end of the great empire, but pretty serious setbacks.....

the israel-palestine thing won't change, however, i doubt usa will attack iran, if obama is elected.......

and anyone who has grown up in two religions, always has some portion of him that is a part of both......

hamidm mian #: ....hmm...you still haven't hung it up.....quite amazing.....now you are pinning your hopes on obama.....

quite a change from pinning your hopes on bush......

as i said, hang it up, my friend.....you have had your day in the sun, with bush.....from what i hear, obama is trying to beat up on everyone highlighting the fact that he did not support the iraq war.....he even has hillary running for cover on this.....

and he is starting to promise withdrawls from iraq.....i.e ready to accept defeat....something which i told you would happen.......in fact i told you this, when you were on your really tall high horse, and when 2/3rd of the us population had been brainwashd into supporting this war.....

hang it up, before you embarrass yourself too much....the hardest the usa could have come down on, "muslims," or on anyone else was in iraq....i hope you will agree that it did not work.....

now if assume that the expat pakistani theory of being even more brutal for success (i.e. the fuzair theory) is not going to be followed by obama, then i feel you and mccain may well be left out in the cold.....

you should hope that hillary wins the democractic primary.....she is hated by too many republicans, and they may actually come out and vote.....

other than that, i think mccain will have trouble......they guy is disliked by the core republican base.......at the same time, the candidate of the core republicans - your friend bush - cannot even offer his endorsement to any republican candidate, as it is the kiss of death.....

so, i suggest you give it up, before you make a bigger fool of yourself.......

I read parts of Obama's autobiography `Dreams of my Father'. When Obama came to New York, as a poor student, on a Scholarship to Columbia University, a Pakistani waiter, Saqib, offered him accomodation & he availed the offer.

Saqib used to chide him saying that `your degrees will be of no use. Start working'. Obama had only 3 plates & two towels.

NHK

What's wrong with Indians on chowk? Here is a quite benign article by a Muslim asking fellow Muslims to take part in the American democratic processa and we have Indians seeing all kinds of motives in support of political islam.

Yes, Muslims should take part in elections and support candidates of their choice and then lobby with them, just as jews, Indians, Italian Americans, Black Americans and other hyphenated americans do. It is american as applie pie.

More bad news for the Men-Who-Would-Be-King (Musharraf and Ben Laden)...

Poll: Support for Musharraf Waning

..The survey by the International Republican Institute also found ... 75 percent of the respondents want Musharraf to resign, and only 15 percent approve of his performance...Pakistanis appeared divided on the issue of Islamic extremism, with a strong majority concerned about militants operating inside the country but also opposed to the alliance with the U.S.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/11/AR2008021101 467.html

Romair and Hamidm,

Not sure that, despite his middle name and Muslim ancestry--although he says that his father had become an atheist long before he came to the US, Obama will be any less pro-Israeli than Clinton. Take a look at: http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1200308099552&pagename=JPost%2FJP Article%2FPrinter

Remember, Clinton is the one who said that he would take up a gun in the defense of Israel.

I think that Obama, if he is elected, will continue the US's 'special relationship' with Israel; at most he might put a little bit more pressure on them but nothing fundamental (no pun intended) will change. For the forseeable future, the Jewish-Israeli lobby will be about 10x more powerful than the Muslim one. And lets face it, why would the US ever be 'pro Muslim' in the same way that it is pro-Israeli? We hate the US and, in any case, there is no such thing as the Ummah for the US being pro about; just a bunch of countries whose people hate the US, some a bit more and some a bit less.

If the Muslims in the US are ever to count for anything in influencing US foreign policy, as I wrote here on Chowk years ago, socialize with the 'real' Americans, work for the local Democratic/Republican party, run for Town Council, serve on the zoning board, go to July 4th picnics, have a beer after work, join the PTA/Kiwanis/Elks and worry about high school test scores and not about getting a one-hour break for Friday prayers, let your daughters date the neighbor's sons and, horrors, marry outside the faith.

In short, become Americans who came from an Islamicate society and not practicing Muslims who live an insulated and isolated life in the US. One of my colleagues at work, a very nice guy actually--lovely people he and his wife--is a Reformed Jew, strong Israel supporter, and loves his BLT for lunch.

If Muslims here in the US don't adapt along these lines, we aren't going to have much influence over US foreign policy since we will be too foreign to count for much.

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Re: # 32

yet another case of mindless inbreeding mixed with islamic non-sense... why the heck do brits put up with this?

Re: # 32

aslam mian,

..... this guy sounds like our own urstruly who milked the system here for many many years before emigrating to greener pastures ...... for all we know, he might be living off the dole in your country now ... beware !

Why don’t they vote for islam zinda bad party, breed like rabbits and live happily ever after

Daily Express: Father of 11 quits his £27,000-a-year job to make more on benefits
By Chris Riches
A TEACHER has given up work to stay at home with his wife and 11 children because he is better off living on benefits.
His new life of leisure also gives Mohammed Salim more time to devote to his Islamic political party - which is campaigning against the Government.
Amazingly, a large part of his income is now Jobseeker's Allowance - even though Salim admits he quit his £27,000-a-year post teaching maths and science only because he was fed up with the travel and pay.
In all, he receives £29,096 a year in handouts doing nothing - except for biting the hand that feeds him and planning to father a 12th child for taxpayers to support.
Salim, 50, said at his fivebedroom home in Rochdale, where he lives with his wife Noreen, 35, and ever-growing brood: "I'd be up at 5.30am with the kids then have to go to work.
Stressed "I'd be sat in traffic for hours and I felt like I'd done a day's work by the time I got there, I was so stressed.
"It's nice to be at home with the kids and for Noreen to have a hand."
The family receive £19,000-ay ear Jobseeker's Allowance - even though Salim is not looking for one - £6,600 child benefit, £2,496 in free school meals and £1,000 council tax relief.
They own a mini-bus to ferry them all around, have two TVs and a computer, plus a garden full of brightly-coloured toys.
Noreen has never worked since marrying Mohammed, who is her cousin, when she was 16.
The couple admit that they do not use contraception.
Salim explained: "It says in the Bible and the Koran to go forth and multiply, and that's what we'll do. I see my children as a gift from God." In fact, his only worry is how he will send them to university.
He said: "I think it's important for them to enjoy themselves.
It's a shame, because when I went it was free."
Salim moved to Britain from Pakistan in 1966, when he was just eight. Now he runs his own political party, Islam Zinda Baad Platform - or Long Live Islam.
He said: "I set it up to protest about the war in Iraq and the NHS. Muslims believe we should look after each other and wealth should be shared.
"That is what is great about Britain. In Pakistan the government does not look after you."
The TaxPayers' Alliance said: "It's utterly wrong to choose to quit a productive job and freeload off the taxpayer. The system is obviously fundamentally flawed.
"This man's decision is deplorable but the welfare state should never put the temptation in front of him."

American Muslim vote is decided in the mosques. As a religious entity a mosque cannot endorse a candidate but if possible it invites candidates into mosque to deliver their pitch. The congregation then draws the logical conclusion by analyzing the likelyhood of a candidate's electability. A word of mouth then endorses the candidate which has most likelyhood of winning. What good is a loser - and its not ideological either. After 9/11, about 90% of mosque going population votes at all levels of government. Barring geographical dispersibility of diaspora, the vote in the mosque has become a force to be reckon with at state, federal, senatorial and local level. The presidential vote is doe through a strange formula; even americans have difficulty understanding it. That is the reason most of the vocal anti-Muslim bigots are found in the presidential race.

are american muslims really monolithic in their political thinking? I doubt it very much, it just shows the political immaturity and ignorance of Ahmer Muzammil.

1) African-american muslims, very little concern for jihadi crap, much more interest in economic development and racial progress

2) normal muslims from poor countries - india, bangladesh, some pakis, egypt, indonesian, - mostly immigrants, trying to survive in new environment, educate children, get a slice of american dream.

3) crackpot muslims, from many countries, especially middle-east and also pakistani chamchas, peddling hatred towards jews, supremacy towards everyone else, etc. Clever use of US diversity laws to support narrow-minded agenda of pushing islam. Use of money from hateful saudis to build mosques, religous "schools" etc. Tactical use of other muslim groups to make claims like "American muslims feel this or that". Sample clown - our own Mr. Ahmer Muzammil.

Re: # 28

romair,

.... i hate to point this out to you, but obama will probably come down much much harder on the ummah just to prove that is is not a muslim-lover .......

hamidm mian #: i think you need to hang it up now.....i told you years ago, when you were the biggest supporter of george bush that he had screwed the republican party for generations to come......

obama vs mccain is the fight i would like to see...one guy oozing with charisma and a total change...the other.....well what can i say......

the usa may be about to elect someone as president who has, "hussain" as his middle name and is the son of a muslim father........with muslim uncles, grandparents.......

in any case, i think you, like bush, have had your day in the sun.....

Re: # 12

Go ahead, commit Hara-kiri and make a our day!

Which animal's LIMB are you Ram-Ram?

Shanti