US Muslims Gaining Foothold in Politics
Charles Johnson
Fri Mar 24, 2006 at 8:23 am PST • Views: 232
Meanwhile, back at home, American Muslims are gaining a foothold in politics.
The 9/11 attacks have had a curious double-edged impact on the political emergence of American Muslims. They are up against more stereotyping and backlash, which they perceived recently in the furor over a Dubai company’s thwarted plan to take over port operations in several U.S. cities.
At the same time, the 9/11 attacks jolted Muslims into realizing that they needed to make themselves known to their neighbors and heard by their government. They are voting, running for office and getting more involved in civic and political life at every level, from PTAs and school boards to town councils and state legislatures. At least two - Texas Republicans Amir Omar and Ahmad Hassan - are running for U.S. Congress.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), which promotes Muslim political activity, has opened 23 of its 31 U.S. chapters since 9/11. In the 2004 election, two studies found, one in five Muslim voters were first-time voters.
“There was a silver lining. We became more public,” says Aref Assaf, president of the New Jersey-based American Arab Forum.
As with every mainstream media report that cites CAIR, USA Today blandly refers to them as a group that “promotes Muslim political activity,” never mentioning CAIR’s radical Islamist agenda.
Frank says: