During the first 48 hours after the emotional electoral victory of President-Elect Barack Obama, news organizations and political commentators raced to analyze
what poll results said about the American demographic.
Major Muslim American national organizations moved to make sure their community was not left out.
At a press conference on Friday, November 7, 2008, the American Muslim Taskforce on Civil Rights and Elections (AMT) released the results of a poll of over 600 Muslim voters.
AMT is an umbrella group representing several of the largest Muslim organizations in the nation including the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA), and the Muslim Alliance in North America (MANA), among others.
Releasing the survey results at the National Press Club in Washington DC, AMT Chairperson Dr. Agha Saeed said almost 90% of Muslims polled voted for Obama. “We are the embodiment of the American sentiment ... we have embodied the American mainstream,” said Saeed of the results.
Genesis Research Associates, an independent firm based in California, conducted the AMT commissioned survey. Six hundred and thirty-seven Muslim voters were randomly selected from a “large American Muslim voter database” of 32,696 names and interviewed over the phone November 6 and November 7, according to the AMT.
Saeed said Muslim Americans voted for issues rather than candidates, and their positions matched closely with the majority of Americans on key issues.
AMT produced what Saeed called a “score card of score cards” -- a summary of 12 key national issues like civil liberties and health care – that showed how national advocacy organizations viewed the candidates on specific issues. On civil liberties – a top priority for Muslim voters according to Saeed – the AMT scorecard showed the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) gave John McCain a 17% rating on civil liberties issues while Barack Obama received an 80% rating.
By voting for Obama, Saeed said Muslim voters sided with most of the major national advocacy groups on their respective issues. For instance, the National Education Association gave President-elect Obama a 100% rating on education issues.
The AMT survey found the economy was the “most important issue” for Muslim voters, with 63% of the sample group saying it was the number one issue. Only 16% cited the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as the most important issue influencing their vote. Despite Saeed saying civil rights was the number one issue for the AMT, only 4% of the Muslim voters polled said it was the most influential factor in their vote.
CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad told the handful of news agencies present Obama’s election meant the “politics of fear and division was soundly defeated”, and Muslim-Americans took part in bringing about change.
Before discussing some survey particulars, Awad called on President-elect Obama to “restore American moral authority in the world”, to restore the “balance between security, civil liberties, and privacy”, to appoint “qualified Muslims” to his administration, and to “cooperate with American Muslims” to better ties with the Muslim world, adding “we hope he would announce [such an initiative] from a mosque”.
Muslim American Society Freedom Foundation’s Mahdi Bray also addressed reporters at the press conference, opening by congratulating the President-elect and mentioning how significant the victory is for America.
“In 1955 I was in my grandparents home when it was torched because [my grandparents] had registered to vote … this election is deeply personal and moving for me,” said Bray.
Led by Bray, MAS-Freedom Foundation spent much of this year working to register Muslim voters and to bring candidates in front of Muslim audiences through town hall meetings and candidate forums. MAS-Freedom Foundation’s strategy was to focus their manpower efforts, call banks, and mobilization resources on the battle ground states, especially Virginia, North Carolina, Ohio, and Florida, explained Bray.
“We did a lot of different things to get the voters to the polls,” said Bray. Through their grassroots efforts, Bray said Muslim voter registration increased by 11% and Muslim participation will continue to increase.
“It was very disheartening to see all the Muslim bashing during this election … we say to the bashers --- enfranchisement means just that – for us second class citizenship is not an option … we have no party affiliations …we look at principles and issues, and we will not sit on the sidelines,” said Bray.
While the press conference showed the AMT coalition was optimistic about the increasing Muslim American participation in elections, a brief question and answer session revealed early concerns about an Obama administration.
Asked about the Muslim American reaction to Obama’s first cabinet level appointment in democratic congressman Rahm Emmanuel, Nihad Awad said it was concerning.
“Who Obama appoints to his administration is a very important subject to the Muslim community. The fact that Emanuel has close ties to Israeli lobbies [is concerning]. Obama has to work closely with the American Muslim community … and [these voices] have to be included in any peace-making efforts for Palestine. The next days are very important. We are looking for inclusiveness … something Obama has stressed so much during his campaign. American Muslims [were] excluded in the decision making process during the Bush administration,” said Awad.
Agha Saeed also expressed his concern about Emmanuel’s appointment.
“The appointment itself is a challenge to Obama’s world view … we hope [its not a case of] neo-cons coming in the guise of democrats,” said Saeed.
Saeed also said Muslims are looking for a restoration of due process, equal justice, and a halt to the application of ex post facto laws -- laws that can criminalize actions that were legal when committed. He also decried the use of secret evidence and said its use was “the definition of fascism”.
“We are not asking for special treatment, we are just asking for a restoration of the Constitution,” said Saeed. “[These things] are a litmus test to see if an Obama administration is really different than a Bush administration.”
AMT represents several of the largest Muslim organizations like the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA), Muslim Alliance of North America (MANA), Muslim American Society’s Freedom Foundation (MAS-FF), and the National Muslim Students Association (MAS National), among others. The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) and the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) are listed as “observers”. AMT’s political action is implemented by the AMT-PAC, and non-profit members of AMT do not contribute to the PAC’s funding.
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