WASHINGTON (ABP) — According to a survey done by a coalition of Muslim-American organizations, Muslims overwhelmingly favor Democratic challenger John Kerry over President Bush in the upcoming election.
The Council on American-Islamic relations released the findings of the non-scientific survey June 29 on Capitol Hill. It was accompanied by a panel discussion — featuring presidential candidate Ralph Nader and five other speakers — on the Muslim vote in 2004.
“The Middle East is going to be the center of the election in 2004, particularly if the economy continues to improve,” Eugene Bird, president of the Council for National Interest, told the audience.
Bird also pointed out early polling in the 2000 election did not take account of the Muslim vote — but those voters affected the outcome greatly in swing states such as Florida.
In the June survey, when asked the question, “Who will you vote for in November?” 54 percent of participants chose Kerry. The next largest percentage of votes was for Nader, with 26 percent. Fourteen percent selected the “not sure” option, and Bush received only three percent.
“Definitely, there is a feeling that the Muslim community and Muslim groups are not satisfied with the performance of the administration on domestic issues — including civil rights — or foreign policy issues like the war[s] in Iraq and Afghanistan,” Nihad Awad, CAIR's executive director, said.
The poll is based on 1,161 responses to a questionnaire distributed by CAIR, said spokesperson Ibrahim Hooper. “It's admittedly an unscientific poll, but I think it's a good gauge of the Muslim community — and particularly that portion of the community that's engaged in the mosque and that is interested in politics,” Hooper told Associated Baptist Press.
The results of the survey suggest a noticeable change in opinion from the 2000 election, when the American Muslim Task Force, made up of eight Muslim-American organizations, endorsed Bush over Democrat Al Gore. Awad said he expects the task force to make an endorsement for the 2004 election by October.
Hassan Ibrahim, member of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, commented on the vast change in opinion since the 2000 election. He said the Bush administration has lied to the American people. “The two biggest lies of the 21st century are, 'They hate us because we are free,'” Ibrahim said. “That's two lies in one sentence. … They are not angry at us; they are angry at our policies.”
Imad Ad-Deen Ahmad, from Libertarian candidate Michael Badnarik's staff, said many Muslims now realize the decision to endorse Bush was a mistake. “… Any Muslim would make a bigger mistake by again choosing the lesser of two evils and support a candidate who does not wholeheartedly support civil liberty or who cannot wholeheartedly oppose turning the American government into an empire.”
Participants at the forum discussed three issues central to the Muslim vote in the 2004 election — Muslims' civil liberties, immigration and America's foreign policy. The foreign-policy discussion focused on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and America's stance regarding the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
Ibrahim presented his view of American Muslims' agenda. “What they are looking for on the domestic front is civil rights,” he said. “On foreign policy, they are looking for human rights. Any candidate who is seriously committed to these values, I think, deserves the Muslim vote.”
Nader likened the government's current practice of detaining many Muslim-Americans and non-American Muslims without charges on suspicion of complicity in terrorism to Japanese internment camps used during World War II.
“The tide of public opinion is turning. Duplicity is the trademark of the Bush administration,” Nader said. “Of all the hundreds of people imprisoned in Guantanamo in Cuba, they have just made charges against two prisoners.”
According to the survey, 87 percent of Muslim-Americans feel less secure in America now than before the war in Iraq.
“We do have a responsibility to the Iraqi people,” Nader said. “But we also have a responsibility to peace and security in the world and the safety of our soldiers.”
Ambassador Edward Peck, CEO of Foreign Service International and chief of the U.S. diplomatic mission in Iraq in the 1980s, said the next president is going to face a major challenge in the Middle East. He said America has lost “just about everything” in the Middle East, including its image, credibility and respect.
“People have a hard time dealing with some things our government says because it's warping the English language,” Peck said. “If someone is going to suggest that [Muslims in the Middle East] hate us for our freedom, I would find that an insult to my intelligence.”
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