: 7,000 Attend “Muslim Ballot Box Barbeque” Voter Drive

They say everything is bigger in Texas. American Muslims proved that maxim again last Sunday when they held a “Muslim Ballot Box Barbeque” in order to register American Muslims to vote, and 7,000 Muslims responded by packing Irving’s Texas Stadium, with local politicians vying for votes not far behind. Organizers managed to collect 5,000 completed voter registration cards, which will be added to a database of Muslim voters, many of whom have been motivated by the events of 9/11 to assert themselves as a positive force in American political life. “News is being made now by extremists,” said event organizer Moazam Syed. “The moderates have not been given a stage. This is the attempt to give them a stage.” 35 Democrats, five Republicans and six independents either attended or sent representatives, with speakers standing in front of a large banner that read: “I am Muslim. I am American. I vote.”

Shahed Amanullah is editor-in-chief of altmuslim.com.