Many conservative American Muslims are turning to Kerry

HASHIM Raza is a 38-year-old physician from St. Louis who, like like a majority of Arab- Americans, voted for President Bush in 2000. Raza has voted Republican in every presidential election starting with Ronald Reagan in 1984.

This year, he will vote for Democrat John Kerry. "After 9/11, things started adding up,' he said at a reception Tuesday for Muslim attendees to the Democratic National Convention hosted by the Islamic Society of Boston. "Muslims were unfairly targeted; we were presumed guilty; Ashcroft, Rumsfeld and Cheney acted like they have no use for Muslims. The Republican Party has become a refuge for far right religious extremists. I believe people like Bush senior and (Bob) Dole were moderates. But now I feel the party has excluded me.' A year ago, Arif Gafur, a 52- year-old engineer for Shell Oil in Houston, did not know anything about being a delegate to the convention. Before 9/11, he and many of his professional friends were never involved in politics. But the aftermath of the terrorist attacks, where many Muslims were detained, made him concerned. "America is the best country in the world, but it's not easy to be a Muslim,' he said.

The invasion of Iraq, which Gafur said was "unnecessary,' pushed him and several other South Asian Muslims to register 1,000 voters and elect delegates to district, state and national delegations. Of the about 5,000 delegates to the convention, about 40 are Muslim and six are from Texas, including himself.

"Sometimes, on Middle East policy, Kerry seems to come across as Bush Lite,' Gafur said. "But on domestic policy, with the Patriot Act and the racial profiling of Muslims, the Muslim community was awakened to the fact that we had to get involved.'

No, you're ZERO. I'm 100% right.

You're a disgusting, liberal-RINO-don't-give-a-crap-about-America, traitor, massadvj.

I've contributed $500 to Bush and $50 to Toomey. What have you done? Called a few people on the phone banks? Sent out a few hundred form letters? I'll vote for Toomey instead of Arlie Sphincter (RINO-PA) on Nov 2. You won't be there, so your doesn't count. Your opinion isn't valid, if you don't VOTE.

NO "respectable Conservatives" will be staying home on Nov 2, RINO. EVERY Conservative will vote, as we've done in '92, '96 and '00, massadvj-RINO. You're a fake and a fraud, like Kerry is.

You are NO CONSERVATIVE, massadvj. The alternative to Bush-Cheney is too terrible to contemplate, massadvj. Wake up and get a clue, massadvj-RINO boy.

You obviously love socialism, communism, islamo-fascism and their concurrent horrors.

I'm in York, PA, and you're NOWHERE in Penna, RINO! Except maybe in Philly or Pittsburgh, with all the liberal-demokkkRATs.

"We conservatives did not abandon the party. The party abandoned us."

BS. Fix the problemm, as you see it, RINO-boy. With Kerry-Edwards in power, you idiots don't have a chance. Fix the freaking problem, moron.

"But there will be advantages to a Kerry presidency from a conservative viewpoint, as I pointed out before."

Again, you're a traitor, a lowlife, RINO and POS. You don't know the meaning of Conservative, cretin. Explain your lies, Cretin...

You're garbage, a traitor, a commie, a socialist and a hate--do nothing-American.

You have no validity, RINO-boy, sleeper-troll. Since '98, you've poisoned this FR.com Forum, in disguise, and gotten away with it, but now we're on to you, RINO. You're exposed as what you are: a FR.com Sleeper Islamic-Muslim-hate-America-hate-GW Bush-mole - you're exposed!

Buh-bye, asswipe!

Take over, Admin Mods!

Bring on The ZOT®s, Kittens!!!

I smell ozone, baby!

And I think that the people to be angry and upset about are not Bush or Tom Ridge, but if I was muslim, or looked muslim or whatever - I'd be mad at the radicals who ruined it for me and everyone else.

I am not angry at Tom Ridge or GWB. I just disagree with their philosophical orientation. While I would certainly be right to be angry with muslim terrorists, I don't think it will do much good. Being a businessman, I tend to be fairly practical and try to channel what little fire I have left in my belly toward those things over which I have some control. The only thing I can absolutely control in this matter is my vote.

We need to use our ingenuity, adapt and recreate ourselves in a more secure mode, and get ahead of the curve, anticipating the certain threats that are to come.
Agreed.
And Bush, unfortunately, perpetuates the lie.
No. But neither is he king to snap his fingers and implement anything he wants. Remember September 10th? Can you imagine what America would have said if Bush layed out some big scare story. Only after September 11th are some people "getting it." But even now some people want to pretend it is 9-10. Getting ahead of the curve, as you said, demands citizens who are willing to acknowlege the dangers and enemies... IMHO

My theory is that as more Muslims emmigrated to the U.S., more U.S. dollars became available to fundamentalist terrorists back home.

Not just money but information on how to attack us --- where our weak spots might be. They're here sizing us up, figuring out where the hated Jews are --- which is why they attacked the WTC twice --- they're always claiming our financial institutions are run by Jews.

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