2008: Muslims more loyal to Democrats than Blacks or Hispanics

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2008: Muslims more loyal to Democrats than Blacks or Hispanics

Posted on 07 November 2008. Tags: America, Democrats, Islam, Muslim American, Republicans, USA

While the press has largely ignored the voting power of the Muslims in America, it remains one of the most powerful voting blocks in America.

The Gallup Center for Muslim studies estimates that U.S. Muslims favored Obama in greater numbers than did Hispanics (67% of whom voted for Obama)—and even outpaced African-Americans, 93% of whom voted for Obama

In the 2008, the candidates ignored the Muslim vote at thier own risk. Muslim impact on 2008 US elections

Mr. Obama and his Republican rival, Senator John McCain, may find it risky to ignore this constituency. There are sizable Muslim populations in closely fought states like Florida, Michigan, Ohio and Virginia. NY Times

[states in play]

In the 2000 elections after a couple of missteps by Al Gore, almost all Muslims voted for candidate George W. Bush. In 2004 they shifted their vote to the Democrats en masse. In the 2008 election the Muslim vote was crucial in the Democratic victories in Michigan, Colorado, Ohio, Pennsyvania, and Virginia.

Muslim Americans wonder if Barack Obama will over compensate for his Kenyan families Muslim background, ignore Muslim issues to avoid the charge of pandering. All Americans are asking the same question. Can Obama use his diverse background to build a better world?

What Obama should have said & Powell had the guts to say

Many Muslim Americans also changed their party affiliations for this election. The country’s Muslim population, estimated at between 7 to 8 million, has traditionally voted along conservative, Republican lines. Today, more than two-thirds of American Muslims polled say they consider themselves to be Democrats, while only 4% see themselves as Republicans (29% identified as Independents.) The shift began in 2004—in part because of the GOP’s handling of civil liberties, from wiretapping American citizens to detaining Muslims in the US and Guantanamo without trail, and because of the war in Iraq. This year, many more were drawn into the Democratic party by Obama himself. Muslims across the country were captivated by the senator’s promise of unity and hope. On the Muslim-Americans for Obama website (or “Mafo2008.com”), their mission statement includes the following: “That we support Barack Obama because, among other reasons, he rejects the politics of fear, challenging our nation to embrace its collective identity, where each American has a stake in the success and well-being of every American.” Newsweek. Islam and Obama: American Muslims overwhelmingly voted Democratic By Lorraine Ali | NEWSWEEK: Published Nov 7, 2008

A lot of us are waiting for him to say that there’s nothing wrong with being a Muslim, by the way,” Mr. Keith Ellison.

President Barack Obama never said it. General Collin Powell did take Barack Obama to task for Mr. Obama’s inability to deal say “there is nothing wrong with being a Muslim”.

A “watershed” moment for U.S. Muslims occurred in mid-October, he said, when former Secretary of State Colin Powell, a Republican who endorsed Obama, addressed the Obama-is-a-Muslim rumors which had circulated for months, and condemned the idea that this would be a slur.

“Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country?” Powell asked on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “The answer’s no, that’s not America … Yet I have heard senior members of my own party drop the suggestion ‘he’s a Muslim and he might be associated with terrorists.’”

Younis said that for U.S. Muslims Powell’s comment capped a decades-long search “to become part and parcel of the nation.”

But beyond the use of the term Muslim as a pejorative, and accusations by the far right that Obama was himself a secret follower of the Quran, what did real Muslim-Americans think of the Chicago senator? And how did they vote? The American Muslim Task Force on Civil Rights and Elections released a poll today of over 600 Muslims from more than ten states, including Florida and Pennsylvania, and it revealed that 89% of respondents voted for Obama, while only 2% voted for McCain. It also indicated that 95% of Muslims polled cast a ballot in this year’s presidential election—the highest turnout in a U.S. election ever—and 14% of those were first-time voters. The Gallup Center for Muslim studies estimates that U.S. Muslims favored Obama in greater numbers than did Hispanics (67% of whom voted for Obama)—and even outpaced African-Americans, 93% of whom voted for Obama. More than two-thirds who were polled said the economy was the most important issue affecting their decision on November 4th, while 16% said the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan informed their vote—numbers that put Muslims roughly on a par with the general population. Newsweek. Islam and Obama: American Muslims overwhelmingly voted Democratic By Lorraine Ali | NEWSWEEK: Published Nov 7, 2008

VIDEO BACKFIRED

More than 20 million copies of a film called “Obsession: Radical Islam’s War Against the West” were included as advertising supplements in newspapers, distributed by a private group unaffiliated with Republican John McCain’s campaign. The film features suicide bombers, children being trained with guns, and a Christian church said to have been defiled by Muslims.

Read said the video was a subtle attempt to link Obama to Islamic extremists but many of the states where it was handed out “were strongholds of Muslim American voters” who were prompted to work for Obama.

“It may actually have brought out voters for Obama,” she said.

But beyond that issue, she added, Muslim voters looked a lot like many other American voters. They moved away from the Republican party, which they had backed heavily in 2000 but less so in 2004 — and voted their concerns for issues such as the economy and a desire for a change in leadership. Goatmilk on WordPress Wajahat Ali

But the ploy to connect Obama to a demonized Islam may have backfired. Weeks before the election, a non-profit group which calls itself the Clarion Fund sent out an anti-Muslim DVD titled “Obsession” in Sunday papers across America; copies were also mailed to various voters in swing states. The DVD paired images of Nazis with images of Muslims, over and over and over again. Its arrival on the eve of the election was clearly intended to scare voters into supporting McCain, turning them against the candidate whose middle name happens to be “Hussein.” “It was intended to be a way of linking Obama to Islam, but it backfired when a lot of people began saying wait, what’s going on?” says Jen’nan Read, a professor of sociology at Duke University. “It not only mobilized many Muslim-American voters, but brought out other undecided voters in support of Obama rather than McCain.” Newsweek. Islam and Obama: American Muslims overwhelmingly voted Democratic By Lorraine Ali | NEWSWEEK: Published Nov 7, 2008