H
HagiaSophia
Guest
In the 2004 presidential election, 93 percent of American Muslims voted as a bloc for Democratic candidate Sen. John Kerry in an effort to help restore civil liberties and human rights for all. It was the largest turn out of American Muslim voters in U.S. history, and represented a 20 percent voter registration increase over the previous presidential election. These national ramifications have equally important international ones.
The American-Muslim vote seen through a post-9/11 prism, is significant for three reasons: 1) it tested the sustained capacity of American Muslims to participate and succeed in a democratic system; 2) it enabled American Muslims to create common cause with like-minded fellow Americans; and 3) it measured the extent to which the United States is capable and willing to treat its religious minorities fairly and equitably.
The civil rights of Muslims in the United States are threatened: 25 percent of those responding to a Zogby poll commissioned by Georgetown University and released October 19, 2004, said they had been profiled, 40 percent said they had personally experienced discrimination, and 57 percent said they knew someone who had been discriminated against. Nevertheless, 90 percent favored remaining politically involved.
In addition, two laws frustrate the community. The first involves sections of the USA PATRIOT Act, which give government sweeping powers to search homes, and personal records –financial, medical and library- at any time without a warrant. The second, the Secret Evidence Act, allows the government to deport or jail immigrants on the basis of classified information.
Results at the voting booths spoke volumes. The data below demonstrate that Muslim Americans constituted 2004’s most cohesive voting bloc. The statistics, from the National Election Pool created by six major news organizations, did not include Muslim data. The Muslim voting patters were collected in two separate surveys, one by the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) and the other by American Muslim Alliance (AMA).
*Muslim Vote - 93% for Kerry
Black Vote - 89% for Kerry
Evangelical Vote - 78% for Bush
Jewish Vote - 74% for Kerry
Veteran Vote - 57% for Bush
Hispanic Vote - 53% for Bush
Catholic Vote - 52% for Bush
aljazeerah.info/4%20o/2004%20Election%20Sees%20Second%20AmericanMuslim%20Bloc%20Vote%20Global%20Perspective%20By%20Lisette%20Poole%20and%20Tahir%20Ali.htm
The American-Muslim vote seen through a post-9/11 prism, is significant for three reasons: 1) it tested the sustained capacity of American Muslims to participate and succeed in a democratic system; 2) it enabled American Muslims to create common cause with like-minded fellow Americans; and 3) it measured the extent to which the United States is capable and willing to treat its religious minorities fairly and equitably.
The civil rights of Muslims in the United States are threatened: 25 percent of those responding to a Zogby poll commissioned by Georgetown University and released October 19, 2004, said they had been profiled, 40 percent said they had personally experienced discrimination, and 57 percent said they knew someone who had been discriminated against. Nevertheless, 90 percent favored remaining politically involved.
In addition, two laws frustrate the community. The first involves sections of the USA PATRIOT Act, which give government sweeping powers to search homes, and personal records –financial, medical and library- at any time without a warrant. The second, the Secret Evidence Act, allows the government to deport or jail immigrants on the basis of classified information.
Results at the voting booths spoke volumes. The data below demonstrate that Muslim Americans constituted 2004’s most cohesive voting bloc. The statistics, from the National Election Pool created by six major news organizations, did not include Muslim data. The Muslim voting patters were collected in two separate surveys, one by the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) and the other by American Muslim Alliance (AMA).
*Muslim Vote - 93% for Kerry
Black Vote - 89% for Kerry
Evangelical Vote - 78% for Bush
Jewish Vote - 74% for Kerry
Veteran Vote - 57% for Bush
Hispanic Vote - 53% for Bush
Catholic Vote - 52% for Bush
aljazeerah.info/4%20o/2004%20Election%20Sees%20Second%20AmericanMuslim%20Bloc%20Vote%20Global%20Perspective%20By%20Lisette%20Poole%20and%20Tahir%20Ali.htm