Election 2004: Will there be a Muslim presidential endorsement?

Excuse me, may I have my vote back?

Much has been said of the endorsement by the now-defunct American Muslim Political Coordination Committee (AMPCC) of George W. Bush in the 2000 presidential election, and the belief by many, Muslim and otherwise, that it played a crucial role in getting Bush elected into office. The umbrella group, which consisted of MPAC, CAIR, AMA, and the also-now-defunct AMC, felt at the time that Bush would be more responsive to the needs of American Muslims and would be fairer on Middle East issues than his Democratic challenger. (African-American Muslims didn’t buy it and mainly voted Democratic.) Four years later, much has changed. There has been regret by many Muslim groups and individuals over the choice of Bush in 2000, criticism of the amount consultation with Muslim citizens, and despair over the lack of progress on Muslim issues. “Many of the Muslim immigrant organizations who organized the Bush endorsement in 2000 did so with a very naive understanding of how politics works in America,” said Imam Al-Hajj Talib Abdur-Rashid, leader of the mosque of Islamic Brotherhood in Harlem. This year, as in the last election, the main issue for Muslims is civil rights, and the American Muslim Taskforce (AMT), the successor to the AMPCC, is debating whether or not to cast an endorsement. But while the AMT waits to make a decision, others in the Arab & Muslim communities have already made theirs. The Arab-American Political Action Committee endorsed the Kerry/Edwards ticket last week, as did the Muslim American Political Action Committee (which is linked to the Muslim American Society, a group that is not a party to the AMT). “The Kerry campaign has already shown an eagerness to be inclusive,” said MAPAC President Mukit Hossain, “and an inclination to engage in such a dialog.” “We played a role in electing George Bush, and we will play a major role in unseating him,” said past AAPAC president Osama Siblani. In addition, reputable polls from the Zogby organization show that Muslim voters have already made up their mind – for John Kerry. Muslim support for Kerry has grown from 42% in June to 79% in September, making an AMT endorsement (either way) a moot point. That hasn’t stopped AMT, which has been buoyed by the same Zogby poll which said that 80% of Muslim voters would take their endorsement seriously. The group plans to meet next weekend in Washington, DC to finalize their plans. “We believe very large segments of the Muslim community would act on our endorsement,” said AMT Chairman Agha Saeed.

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