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| American Muslims unlikely to vote for Bush | |
| 2003-06-13 | |
| The American Muslim community, which was influential in President George W. Bush's electoral victory in 2000, is threatening to desert him next year. The issue which most riles Muslims and Arab-Americans is a registration programme that was introduced after the Sept 11 attacks and seen as discriminatory. The programme requires immigrants from 25 countries to register with the authorities. All the countries involved, with the exception of North Korea, are Islamic. Now I wonder why that is? 'The programme just targets Muslim countries,' said American Muslim Council communications director Faiz Rehman. The official rationale for the programme is to correct visa irregularities but it is seen as stereotyping Arab and Muslim immigrants as potential terrorists. 'It is causing anxiety because we believe it is a selective prosecution of the law,' said Mr Nihad Awad, executive director of the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations. 'It defies the American tradition of treating people equally before the law.'
Those days are over, pal. A staggering 82,000 trooped in, many of them proud to cooperate in the battle against terrorism. But 13,000 were shocked when told they faced deportation because of visa irregularities. 'They thought that because they were abiding by the law, they would be treated leniently. Now they feel they were duped,' said Mr Faiz. Mr Nihad added: 'Muslims and Arabs feel they are being singled out. It's not healthy.' The US authorities contend that the crackdown is necessary because illegal immigrants pose a high security risk, pointing out that several of the 9/11 terrorists were in America illegally at the time of the attacks. We noticed But US Muslims are not appeased by such logic and that could be dangerous for Mr Bush in next year's presidential elections. Muslim voters can play a crucial role in 'swing' states such as Florida, where the President's Republican Party is uncertain of victory. There are an estimated six million Muslims in America. About 30 per cent are from South Asia, 30 per cent are Afro-American Muslims and the rest are predominantly from the Arab world. Black Muslims traditionally vote for the Democrats; the others are divided equally between the two main parties. In the last election, Muslim voters swung heavily to Mr Bush and his party - a trend most evident in states with Muslim concentrations such as Michigan, California, Texas, Florida and New York. Mr Bush had worked for the support. He met Muslim leaders in key states and impressed them with the way he condemned racial and religious profiling and affirmed the right to pray. He still feels the same way, wonder what else has happened to change their minds? But now, the perceived anti-Muslim slant of the registration programme, coupled with opposition to the war in Iraq and a widespread belief that the US favours Israel over Palestine, has alienated Mr Bush from American Muslims. 'Next year is going to be a different story,' said Mr Faiz. 'There's no chance Muslims are going to vote for Mr Bush.' I'm sure you can find a Dummycrat willing to pander for your vote. Feel free to come out and openly support one. I'm sure it will be a big help. | |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #11 Still have not heard a loud,public condemnation of terrorist and thier suppoters out CAIR,&AMC. If they object to regestration there is a simple solution activly and publiclly help law enforcement root-out and destroy terrorist orginazations and thier supporters.Boot-out,ostricize and publiclly condemn the Imams,Mullahs,etc.who use Mosques to preach hate and violence.Untill they take the actions I propose they are part and parcle of the problem. |
| Posted by: raptor 2003-06-14 08:49:07 |
| #10 Did the author if this article see the people from Detroit celebrating the liberation of Iraq? Did he/she watch the celebrations in other key cities where Iraqi dissidents live after fleeing Saddam's Iraq? This whole thing is just another attempt by the looney left whiners to try to fracture the Bush message. The people complaining are those who want to live in the United States, but demand to be treated as if they were the upper class of their home nation, on vacation in this country. If they want to be treated as equals, they need to act as equals, not spoiled brats. That includes obeying the laws of this nation. There are no exceptions for any citizen, regardles of race, creed, color, nationality, sex, or ethnicity. If these whiners can't accept that, they don't belong here anyway. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2003-06-13 21:14:21 |
| #9 How about a write-in campaign for Chirac? I seriously doubt that much of the Muslim vote is going anywhere other than for Bush, especially if we can make some progress in making Iraq functional over the next year. If Bush can point to a halfway prosperous, semi-democratic Iraq, he will have done more for the Middle East than any other president in US history. Plus the Republicans are going to be able to put together one heck of a testimonial commercial from liberated Iraqis. "I'll never forget the day the Marines came to the children's prison. Thank you, Boosh." |
| Posted by: Matt 2003-06-13 14:04:23 |
| #8 Wonder if the AMC and CAIR consulted with Iraqui-Americans or Iranian-Americans like the ones I know. I think they will be shocked to find their "bloc" is not a monolithic as they believe it is... |
| Posted by: Hodadenon 2003-06-13 13:30:14 |
| #7 I agree with Matt, but the Libs agenda only helps the really radical Muslims. But their miles apart when it come to ideology. Picture a Democratic Muslim at a convention in San Francisco? Their head would explode! Of course, that might happen anyway. |
| Posted by: Cyber Sarge (VRWC California Chapter) 2003-06-13 13:07:07 |
| #6 I'll be really impressed when these folks block vote for Lieberman. |
| Posted by: Matt 2003-06-13 11:49:54 |
| #5 I respectfully disagree with all the jokes. These nice Arab Muslims are just beginning to do in here what they are finishing in France: silent invasion, multiplication...in the end nobody can do anything without their permission. They do not mix, the second generation will be more fanatic than the first, the third more...There is a problem here, a big one. And if we don't find a solution that is in line with the Constitution and democracy they will find a (final) solution for us. Take a trip in the areas around Paris...have a look... |
| Posted by: Poitiers 2003-06-13 11:44:30 |
| #4 It just might help Bush break the stranglehold on the Jewish (and maybe even middle-class black) vote. Caving to Muslim demands is political poison to those of us with memories good enough to remember 9-11. I have nothing against Muslim individuals, but selfish group whining about how THEY (sniff, sniff) are inconvenienced, when they saddled the rest of us with massive life-changing inconveniences, massive increased spending (taxes) to pay for all of the security we need against Arab fanatics and over 3,000 deaths. To all the Muslim whiners who come here for freedom and then complain that it's not good enough for you....don't let the screen door at INS hit you on your way out. |
| Posted by: Becky 2003-06-13 11:43:52 |
| #3 So they'll flock to the Democrats, thereby making it the the pro illegal alien, pro terrorist party? I'm sure the Dems look forward to that support. They don't have enough problems? Maybe the "More Evil Then Bush" Rove did put them up to it. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2003-06-13 11:32:15 |
| #2 Yeah, boo hoo for the Republicans, right? wrong. Think about it for a moment. If you were, say, a democrat, and in the next election your party won the presidency (heaven forbid) by a slim margin. How would you feel, hearing Dan Rather on the post - election roundup saying, "Well, the democrats are back in the white house, due in no small part to an overwhelming Muslim vote" |
| Posted by: Dripping Sarcasm 2003-06-13 11:27:41 |
| #1 Karl Rove put them up to this, didn't he? |
| Posted by: Frank G 2003-06-13 11:05:09 |