DECEMBER 2000, Pages 6, 116

Election Watch

Historic Muslim- and Arab-American Bloc Vote a Coveted Political Prize

By Delinda C. Hanley

Cynics may say U.S. Mideast policy is mainly the result of the electoral weight of the American-Jewish community, which, like other ethnic groups in their respective areas, can have a disproportionate influence when its interests are at stake. The year 2000 elections saw the birth of a new electoral community that may soon have a say in American Mideast policy.

Adding to the suspense of this year’s election has been the emergence of the Muslim- and Arab-American communities, which has begun to flex its political muscles. In response to its growing influence and potential clout, both presidential candidates, Republican Gov. George W. Bush and Democratic Vice President Al Gore, pledged to end two forms of discrimination: the use of secret evidence to deport immigrants, and ethnic profiling by airlines.

Muslim- and Arab-Americans made their first major political mark in what turned out to be the closest presidential race in American history. Great numbers of Muslim- and Arab-Americans voted, they voted in a bloc so as not to cancel each other out, and they finally put themselves on the U.S. political map. Muslim- and Arab-American leaders demonstrated the discipline to turn their communities out to vote. Muslim- and Arab-American turnout was high in the pivotal states of Florida, Michigan, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Illinois. No longer can there be any doubt that this country’s estimated six million Muslims represent a powerful swing vote that future candidates will ignore at their peril.

In the weeks leading up to the Nov. 7 election, the American Muslim Political Coordinating Council Political Action Committee (AMPCC-PAC), comprising the four major American-Muslim organizations—the American Muslim Alliance (AMA), American Muslim Council (AMC), Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), and Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC)—surveyed their members to learn which political issues were of most concern to them. Responses indicated that domestic civil rights issues and education were of the highest priority, with peace in the Middle East and Kashmir also of importance to voters.

In conjunction with its voter survey the AMPCC also launched the Hisham Reda Voter Registration Drive—honoring the memory of one of the first Muslim-American political activists—registering eligible voters in mosques, on college campuses and at various community events.

Next AMPCC approached each candidate and asked for his stand on those political issues their community had identified as important. Governor Bush met with AMPCC leaders on Oct. 5, the first time a presidential candidate had stopped in Dearborn, MI for the purpose of soliciting support from the Muslim-American community. After that historic meeting, even long-time Democrats like Mike Perry, the former Democratic chairman of Michigan’s 16th congressional district, were impressed by Bush’s accessibility. The governor praised the community for its contribution to America and said that, as president, he would maintain an open line of communication.

During the Oct. 11 televised presidential debate, watched by tens of millions of Americans, Bush raised the issue of airport profiling and said he would support a bill introduced by Sen. Spencer Abraham (D-MI) to abolish it. Also during that debate, Bush recognized the unfair application of the “secret evidence act” to Arab Americans, saying the practice should be repealed.

Saying he was forced to return to the White House for meetings on the unfolding crisis in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, Vice President Al Gore canceled a scheduled Oct. 13 meeting with Arab- American leaders.

Ten days later, at an Oct. 23 press conference at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, AMPCC announced its endorsement of George W. Bush for president. The coordinating council PAC said Bush had shown “elevated concern” about issues its community holds dear: stopping the government’s use of secret evidence against Arab and Muslim immigrants, and its profiling of Arab-Americans at airports.

In the remaining two weeks before the election, numerous newspaper articles focused on the visibility and potential voting clout of Muslim- and Arab- Americans.

The New York Senate campaign between Republican candidate Rick Lazio and Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton grabbed unwanted headlines as Lazio charged Clinton with accepting campaign contributions from Muslim organizations that advocated violence against Israel. AMPCC leaders responded that Lazio, in a desperate bid to win the election, resorted to deceptive campaign tactics aimed at inciting hatred and hostility toward American Muslims—forgetting that 600,000 Muslims live in New York State. Lazio’s attacks on Hillary, especially in relation to “the Middle East question,” may have caused him to lose the election. At exit polls conducted by the American Muslim Council, voters said that Lazio’s remarks against Muslims cost him their votes. Rather than locking Muslim voters out of the political process, then, Lazio’s campaign may have energized Muslim-Americans to support Hillary Clinton, who beat Lazio handily.

“American Muslims are pleased by the victory of Mrs. Clinton,” said Aly Abuzaakouk, executive director of AMC. “We hope that Lazio’s loss is a lesson to candidates who deem it permissible to discriminate against us. We are also pleased that Cynthia McKinney (D-GA) won her seat despite opponent Sunny Warren’s mirroring of Lazio’s anti-Muslim rhetoric and campaign tactics.”

Responding to Warren’s mudslinging, Congresswoman McKinney took the high road. “Sunny Warren, my opponent, recently launched a rather unsophisticated attack against me that attempted to paint me and the Arab-American and Muslim communities with the broad brush of ‘terrorism,’” the incumbent legislator stated. “Racist innuendo and hate-mongering have no place in an election campaign or any respectable public discourse.”

Perhaps the most interesting and upbeat story was to be found in the Nov. 3 Queens Jewish Week, by its Washington correspondent, James D. Besser. “In the waning days of this year’s presidential race,” Besser wrote, “both major candidates have suddenly taken an interest in a group with a strong concern about U.S. Mideast policy and an emotional attachment to Jerusalem. But it’s not the Jews, whose votes are a sure thing for the Democratic ticket of Vice President Al Gore and Sen. Joe Lieberman. Instead, with polls pointing to a photo finish next Tuesday, the Muslim- and Arab-American communities have become a coveted political prize for both Gore and his Republican rival, Texas Gov. George W. Bush.”

Besser went on to say that Michigan has the largest concentration of Arab-American and Muslim voters, some 300,000 strong, and that their political organizations, built on a base of local politics, are increasingly effective in the battleground state.

Assessing the outreach of each political party, Besser continued, “Gore has been relying on traditional Arab-American allies such as Arab American Institute president Jim Zogby, a longtime Democratic activist. Bush has focused more on the emergent Muslim groups.”

Besser went on to quote Marshall Wittman, a senior fellow at the conservative Hudson Institute, who said, “But the bottom line is a very real change in the political landscape. The underlying reality is that in the last week of this campaign, the Arab-American and Muslim communities are more important than the Jewish community in the presidential race. Jews are locked into their allegiance to the Democrats,” Wittman said. “The Arab Americans and Muslims are a genuine swing constituency that could go either way. That gives them a surprising last-minute edge in political leverage given the closeness in the presidential race.”

Arab Ameicans and Muslims across the country were urged to go to the polls with a slate of local candidates endorsed by AAPAC. Imams were asked to encourage voters the Friday before elecions “to make our community’s voice heard on issues ranging from education and health care to Israeli attacks on Palestinian civilians and holy places.” The final results of the election advisories, rallies, meetings and speeches remain to be tabulated.

While there was disappointment that Rep. Tom Campbell (R-CA) lost a tight election to Democratic incumbent Dianne Feinstein, and Sen. Spencer Abraham (R-MI), the only Arab American currently in the Senate, lost a second six-year term to Rep. Debbie Stabenow, some battles were won. Muslim victors included Saghir Tahir, who won a seat in New Hampshire’s 38th District State Assembly, and Hassan Fahmy, who won a city council seat in Prospect Park, NJ.

The big story of the elections in the year 2000, however, emerged from a preliminary poll of Muslim voters conducted by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). That poll indicated that at least 70 percent of respondents voted for the Bush/Cheney ticket, 20 percent for Nader/LaDuke, and only 10 percent for Gore/Lieberman. An overwhelming 95 percent of voters had heard about the AMPCC-PAC endorsement of George Bush from their local or national Muslim community groups. That endorsement was the major factor in the voting decisions of 50 percent of respondents, and one of several factors for 39 percent. Only 11 percent of respondents said the AMPCC-PAC endorsement was not a factor in their decision.

The poll’s major finding, according to CAIR’s Mohamed Nimr, was that this was the first vote cast by 40 percent of the American Muslims polled. In addition to the bloc vote successes, then, the Hesham Reda Voter Registration Campaign helped energize Muslims to register and vote, increasing the number of Americans who participate in the national political process.

Six million American Muslims, and solid support for Governor Bush from at least two million registered Muslim voters out of a total American electorate of 100 million voters, made a difference. As the Washington Report goes to press it is still unclear if Bush will have captured Florida’s deciding 25 electoral votes. Many of the state’s 60,000 Muslims reside in the bitterly contested Tampa-Orlando-Tallahassee corridor, and their votes will be a critical factor in choosing the next president of the United States.

“The dramatic delay in naming the winner of the presidential election is a tremendous lesson for Muslims, in an election no one will forget,” said Dr. Agha Saeed, chairman of both the American Muslim Alliance and AMPCC-PAC, as votes were being recounted on Nov. 8. “Muslim- and Arab-Americans learned that every vote counts,” he said. “At the end of the day, as America tallied up the votes, no one can deny that without the endorsement of the Muslim- and the Arab-American community, George W. Bush would have been significantly short of votes in this election.”

The Arab- and Muslim-American community has taken its first major step on the road to political maturity, and now has the wherewithal to influence the American political process. Muslim- and Arab-Americans decided that elections are important. Vast numbers registered and turned out to vote. Regardless of who wins it, the 2000 presidential election showed that every vote counts. That in itself is an important victory for our country.

Delinda C. Hanley is the news editor of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs.