(MSNBC) Kari Huus - To the extent that the get-out-the-Muslim-vote effort succeeds, it will largely benefit the Democrats because it is energized by anger over the Bush administration's Patriot Act and what is perceived as an anti-Muslim bias behind the Iraq war and Israeli-Palestinian policy. According to the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), 78% of Muslims voted Republican in 2000. But in the post 9-11 era, the Bush administration pushed through the USA Patriot Act, expanding secret detentions and use of secret evidence, as well as expanding FBI powers to investigate individuals. In absolute terms, the Muslim community is small. Their ability to affect the outcome in this year's elections depends on influence in elections where voters are quite evenly divided. Arab Americans, about one-third of whom are Muslim, have a largely Democratic bent and number about 3.5 million.
2004-02-04 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive