US Elections: Should Muslim Americans vote conservative in 2008?

Last updated on: January 29, 2008 at 6:00 pm by Guest Contributor

US Elections: Should Muslim Americans vote conservative in 2008? 2008-01-29T18:00:00-04:00 Guest Contributor

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

State Senator Saghir “Saggy” Tahir (R-NH)

On January 20, 2001, George W. Bush was sworn-in as the country’s 43 president. In one America’s closest elections, Muslim Americans were optimistic for the future. For the first-time ever, they had organized a coalition of major political and civic organizations, and based on Pres. Bush’s supportive position on a series of domestic and international issues important to the Muslim community, Muslim Americans offered a unified endorsement of the former Texas governor.

Then-Governor Bush readily met with Muslim American leaders, actively sought Muslim American support, and was the first presidential candidate to invite a Muslim to open a session of a national convention with a prayer. And in the second presidential debate, in response to a question regarding racial profiling by law enforcement, he sought out the opportunity to further condemn the Clinton administration’s use of “secret evidence” against individuals suspected of supporting terrorism.

Estimates vary, but between 75 and 80 percent of Muslim American voters supported Bush. Indeed, in Florida alone, an estimated 30,000 Muslims voted Republican. After his inauguration, President Bush met with prominent Muslim American leaders such as Dr. Muzammil Siddiqi, Shaikh Hamza Yusuf, and Imam Warith Deen Muhammad and was the first president since President Dwight Eisenhower, a Republican, to visit an American mosque when, just days after 9/11, he visited a mosque in Washington, DC and warned Americans against anti-Muslim bigotry and violence. And throughout his term, President Bush has appointed several Muslim Americans to senior positions in his administration.

A seat at the American political table – For me, the Democratic Party was a natural fit. For me the core values of my faith are belief in God, and to treat others as I would want to be treated. For me, the Democratic Party most closely embraces those values: A desire to help the poor through social programs. A desire to work in a more multilateral manner in the international community. (Read more…)

Muslim Americans have come a long way. Just fourteen years before, a nascent group of Arab and Muslim political activists had organized a coalition and offered to endorse then Democratic Presidential candidate Walter Mondale. Shunning the group’s support, Mondale added insult to injury by encouraging Arab and Muslim Americans to vote Republican.

That was 1984; now its 2007, and another generation of Muslim Americans are faced with a host of candidates from both sides of the partisan aisle, not to mention the many third-party, vanity and fringe candidates. Not having lived under a rock the past several years, I’m fully aware of the anger and frustration many Americans, including Muslim Americans, feel toward our elected leaders in Washington. The war in Iraq, excessive spending, the rising cost of healthcare, and the urgent need for improvements in infrastructure in places such New Orleans and Minneapolis, to name a few, have caused many to shake their fist at the powers-that-be.

But if President Bush’s approval ratings are in the basement; the Democrat-controlled Congress, under House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, are exploring even deeper subterranean depths still. Exploiting voters’ frustrations into narrow victories in 2006, Democrats have done little to propose any solutions to our current challenges, whether foreign or domestic. If anything, they’ve embraced Reagan’s humorous yet fitting description of Democrats and their love of government: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it. Just days after assuming control of congress, Democrats immediately set about proposing record increases in taxes on working Americans, increased economic and regulatory burdens on small businesses, and have utterly failed to propose any solutions to our challenges in Iraq, on healthcare, or for that matter, anything else.

And this brings us to the next election in 2008. Hillary Clinton supported and voted to go to war in Iraq, as did former candidates Joe Biden, Chris Dodd, and John Edwards. All are attempting to tap-dance around the fact now that the war has become unpopular. Regardless of how you felt about going in to Iraq, none of the Democratic candidates are providing an honest solution to the ongoing conflict.

Having missed the chance to vote on the war in Iraq, Barack Obama recently attempted to show his mettle claiming he’s open to bombing Pakistan. The remaining Democratic candidates — including Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama — favor significant increases in our taxes, government spending and power, strangling regulations and legal liabilities on small businesses and medical practices, a more secular anti-religious society, and limits on personal liberty and free trade.

For example, in a Democratic debate hosted by a gay, lesbian and transgender association in August, Edwards advocated mandating that public schools teach students that same-sex relationships are a healthy alternative to “traditional” marriage. Regardless of your position on homosexuality and same-sex marriage, most agree that this issue is better handled by parents according to their own personal moral and religious values, and not unknown public school administrators.

John McCain, Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee, and Ron Paul stand for more individual freedom and opportunity. The Republican candidates support lower taxes, including preserving the Bush tax cuts, abolishing the death tax, keeping the capital gains tax at 15 percent or lower, and reducing the regulatory burden on all of us. The Republicans support reforming the tort laws so trial lawyers (like John Edwards) don’t threaten to bankrupt every doctor and small business owner in America. They stand for individual choice and freedom in healthcare, parental choice in education, religious freedom of expression, free trade, limited government and reduced government spending. In facing today’s many challenges, the Republican candidates look to empowering individuals and families, and not expanding the power and reach of the federal government.

For example, as Governor of Massachusetts, Republican candidate Mitt Romney successfully introduced a program providing universal healthcare for Massachusetts residents that provided a level of choice and quality that no single-payer socialized system could ever provide. Republican candidate Ron Paul has called for a less-intrusive foreign policy, especially in the Middle East, and John McCain has taken on the wasteful government spending including earmarks (a friend once remarked, “earmarks are the entry ‘drug’ for harder spending addiction”), corruption, and has fought against those calling for the use of torture.

Regardless of your party-registration or which candidate you support, its imperative that Muslim Americans remain engaged in the political process. Like our fellow-Americans, we deserve a seat at the table, but we must earn that seat through hard work, intelligent dialogue, and constructive engagement. In registering to vote, organizing strategic coalitions, and sustained political discourse, we will not only preserve and protect our cherished rights and freedoms, but we will contribute to our country and freedom-loving people everywhere.

Suhail A. Khan is a Washington, DC attorney and serves on the boards of the American Conservative Union, the Islamic Free Market Institute and the Indian American Republican Council.

Commentary

Previous Post

January 29, 2008

Podcasts: altmuslim review 026

Next Post

January 31, 2008 Former Indonesian President Suharto: The authoritarian liberator

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category 2012 Elections 30 Dayd 30 Writers (2017) 30 Days 30 Writers 30 Days 30 Writers (2015) 30 Days 30 Writers (2016) 30 Days 30 Writers (2018) 30 Days 30 Writers 2017 Ali Asadullah Ali Eteraz Alper Bilgili Arthur Richards Asides Asma Uddin Black History Month Briefings Charles Turner Commentary Cyrus McGoldrick Eman H Aly Fatimah Popal Hajj Hajj and Dhul Hijjah Hesham Hassaballa Hisham Hellyer Ibrahim Abusharif Inas Younis Irfan Yusuf Jalal Baig Junaid Afeef Laila Alawa Laila Alwala Mas'ood Cajee Muqtedar Khan Nakia Jackson Newsmakers Parvez Ahmed Podcasts Rabia Chaudry Rafia Zakaria Ramadan Reviews Safiyyah Ally Saud Inam Shahed Amanullah Svend White The Opinionated Oncologist Visions Wajahat Ali Zahed Amanullah Zahir Janmohamed Zainab Khan

Select a Month November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003 August 2003 July 2003 June 2003 May 2003 April 2003 March 2003 February 2003 January 2003 December 2002 November 2002 October 2002 September 2002 August 2002 July 2002 June 2002 May 2002 April 2002 March 2002

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What miracle did Elijah perform for a widow at Zarephath?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Turned water to wine Cured leprosy Multiplied flour and oil Fed 5,000