Posted on 11/02/2006 11:03:40 AM PST by Doctor13
San Francisco, 2 Nov. (AKI/DAWN) - An intensive voter registration and get-out-and-vote drive is underway in the seven-million strong American Muslim community ahead of the 7 November midterm election in the United States. At least two million Muslims are registered voters with a substantial Muslim voter turnout expected. Muslim groups are targeting 12 states with a high concentration of Muslim population: California, Illinois, New York, Texas, New Jersey, Michigan, Florida, Virginia, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Minnesota.
The Muslim American Society, which has set up voter registration booths in mosques across the country, has added 30,000 new voters to the rolls in recent weeks.
In Illinois, another state with significant Muslim presence, the Council of Islamic Organisations of Greater Chicago has been working to register more of the area's approximately 400,000 Muslims to vote.
In California, which hosts 20 percent of the country's Muslim population, American Muslim Voice (AMV) and American Muslim Alliance (AMA) are also encouraging Muslims to register as voters and participate in the national political process. The AMA has issued an election advisory suggesting its preference for the candidates who supported the Muslims on the issue of civil rights which remains the top Muslim concern in elections.
Keith Ellison, who is poised to become the first Muslim in the U.S. House of Representatives, last week visited California. He told a gathering of Muslims in San Francisco that the fact that he is Muslim has become the main point of discussion for some and turned into a blessing.
Ellison has been victim of a number of negative campaign attacks from his Republican opponent Alan Fine, who has labelled Ellison a terrorist sympathiser. Ellison said he had chosen not to respond with a negative campaign. He said a smear campaign would go against his belief of bringing together people of all races and religions.
Meanwhile, two recent polls suggested that a majority of American Muslims are poised to support the Democratic Party in the mid-term election in which several polls suggest that President Bush’s Republican Party is likely to lose control of the Congress.
According to the Council on American-Islamic Relations survey of Muslim voters, 42 percent consider themselves members of the Democratic Party while only 17 percent are Republican. Another 28 percent do not belong to any party.
Strong majorities of Arab-American voters in four key states — Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida — intend to vote for the Democratic candidates for senator, according to another poll by the Arab American Institute (AAI).
About 40 percent of the 3.5 million-strong American Arab community is Muslim and the rest is Christian. However, Arab Christians have also been complaining of discrimination in the post-9/11 era.
The American Muslim and Arab voters are leaning towards the Democratic Party because of the Bush administration policies that substantially curtailed their civil liberties in the aftermath of 9/11. It may be recalled that in November 2000 presidential election American Muslims voted en bloc for the Republican presidential candidate George Bush, who was governor of Texas at that time.
There is a widespread dissatisfaction in these communities with the Bush administration's treatment of Arab and Muslim Americans since the September 11 attacks. Among the policies that have alienated Muslims are those allowing racial profiling of Muslim men, the use of secret evidence in cases said to touch on national security, and the detention and deportation of many Arab and Muslim nationals without the right to legal representation.
At the same time, the government has launched a campaign against Muslim charitable organisations for allegedly providing financial or other material assistance to groups the government designates as "terrorist". Several Muslim charities have been shut down, although none has been found so far having links with "terrorist" organisations.
Might I suggest rewording "curtailed their civil liberties" to "curtailed their desire to spread Islam."
So, Muslims are voting in favor of Muslim terrorists and their enablers, the Democrats. In the long run, this may not be a partnership that helps the Democrat Party win friends and influence people.
Democrats: the party of abortionists, perverts, Muslims, foodstamp recipients, and illegal aliens. An odd coalition.
Might I add instead, CURTAILED THEIR DESIRE TO FORCIBLY SPREAD ISLAM THROUG THE USE OF TERROR, AND OVERSEAS TERRORIST FUNDING!!!
We all know what party the Muslims will be backing --dont we?
You need to add felons.
Is that even legal?
"Muslim and Arab voters are leaning towards the Democratic Party"
Same as over here in the UK - they will tend to vote (unsurprisingly) for the party that falls over itself to support every culture other than its own. This would be the left; problem is, the Labour party here is all for Afghanistan & Irag so in London they vote for "Respect", the "party" headed by George Galloway.
Works for me - thanks!
Yep. Voter registration in and of itself is a non-partisan activity and is perfectly legitimate for a not-for-profit organization to conduct. As long as they don't politic for any particular party or candidate, it passes legal muster.
The Boy Scouts used to do this a lot. It died out because there were complaints that they were accused of engaging in partisan activity based on what neighborhoods they were doing GOTV in; if a Troop was in a Democratic neighborhood, the Republicans would make the accusation, and vice versa. But that was simply an accusation. The BSA decided that it didn't want to get involved in defending against it, but it's my guess that CAIR has no such concern.
Running voter registration and Get Out The Vote campaigns are perfectly legitimate operations for a not-for-profit, so I'd suggest that you all do the same in your churches.
"If we don't win this one, heads are gonna roll!"
"If we DO win this one, heads are gonna roll!"
Worth repeating.
Representative (Impeach Bush) Conyers, Michigan, has the highest percentage of Muslims in his district in the entire Nation.
Just something to ponder as we contemplate a Democrat majority in the House.
And what policies of the Bush administration curtailed the MUSLIM civil liberties?
What a pantload.
If the females wear veils or burqua type coverups, how will the election officials be able to verify their identity?
Oh, yeah..... Nevermind.
Bush's policies are directly responsible for the elimination of Muslims' liberties to hijack airliners and murder thousands of innocents.
Yes, and if I'd taken more time to think about it, the dead.
This isn't correct, I don't believe:
"At the same time, the government has launched a campaign against Muslim charitable organisations for allegedly providing financial or other material assistance to groups the government designates as "terrorist". Several Muslim charities have been shut down, although none has been found so far having links with "terrorist" organisations."
I think some have indeed been found to have ties to terrorists
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.