Role of US Muslims in Mid-Term elections

Muslim citizens of America have as much freedom to express their opinions as any other American. The question is how do we exercise that right. We can argue that the institutions meant to give us the opportunities to express our views are a facade as they don't really serve people or we can use these institutions to express our opinions, no matter how feeble they may be.

The forthcoming November 7 elections offer one more opportunity to Muslim Americans to make their voices heard quietly. The fate of thousands of aspirants for public offices is at the mercy of American voters and as conscious citizens Muslims can play an active role in determining the destiny of such people. 

Ideally, we would have liked to develop a better understanding of candidates, issues, propositions and other election related matters. However, we lack an effective institution that may provide us fair and balanced information about election issues. Muslim media in the USA is still in its infancy and it lack resources to study, analyze issues and inform its readers of the alternative choices. Our organizations are still in their adolescence as they are unable to effectively educate their constituents on the real dynamics of democracy. 

Certainly, at some point in our efforts to make our voices heard, we have to devote part of our resources and energy in strengthening our media and creating institutions that would be relevant to our needs, but for the time being we have to rely on what we have and what we can do.

In the forthcoming coming elections, from a Muslim American perspective, four issues are of great importance.

1. The number one issue that is least talked by any candidates and political parties is civil rights. Recent legislations have virtually ended the privacy of individuals and made a huge dent on the process of safeguarding freedoms. We had long cherished the idea that people are innocent until proven guilty. Under the new laws, people or some people are assumed to be guilty until proven innocent. Thus, when we make our choices on November 7, we must ensure that the candidates we are voting for stand for those freedoms that have been taken away from us.

2. The second issue is economy. Despite the fact that the stock market is rising and more jobs have been created, we are a nation living in trillion of dollars debts. The deficit size has tripled over the last six years. Most jobs that are created during the last six years are in the defense industry. In order for these jobs to sustain, we as a nation have to be constantly in a state of war. Thus we must ascertain that those who represent us have an understanding of economic issues we face.

3. The Iraq war is the third issue. The war has caused us severe financial burden. It has resulted in the loss of almost 650,000 Iraqi civilians and over 2,700 US soldiers. Despite three yeas of US presence, the violence has not subsided. It is on the rise. Stability is no where in site and political chaos is prevalent. 

Thus on November 7, we must ascertain that the people we are supporting have an understanding of the ground realities in Iraq and they are willing to take bold steps to help us out of the situation.

4. The fourth issue is corruption in our houses of legislation. It is no longer a secret that our representatives traded off their political opinions for favors in cash and kind. What we know is only the surface. There are more than 30,000 lobbying groups working in Washington DC. There are approximately 66 lobbyists for every congress representative. This is frustrating as this defeats the very purpose of democracy. In the early stages of democracy the average size of a congressional district was no more than 20,000 people. Now a congressional district is as large as 6 million people. Our representatives have lost touch with their constituents and lobbies have taken over. Thus on November 7, we must ensure that the candidate we are choosing reflect the options of voters rather than lobbyists.

5. Illegal immigration is the fifth issue. We are a nation of immigrants. We must devise a policy that is fair to new immigrants and that provides people wishing to settle in America fair choices through legal means. Those who have illegally entered the country must not be denied their basic human rights regardless of the method they chose to enter the country. Thus on November 7, we must elect those who view immigrants not as aliens but as human beings deserving a humane status regardless of their legal status.

Additionally, we must also be watchful of those candidates who have spread anti-Islamic sentiments during their previous tenure in office. There are many congressmen who have openly shown hostility towards Muslims. Regardless of their party affiliations they must be given a clear message that Muslim electorates of America will not tolerate racists and bigots in their houses of legislation.

Election is as much about one's conscious as it is about political empowerment. We must be willing to listen to our conscious more than the demand of political expediency. After all, when we exercise our freedom, we have to be mindful of something else, i.e., The Highest authority to whom we all are accountable for every choice that we make in every aspect of our life.

Dr. Aslam Abdullah is Editor-in-Chief of the Muslim Observer, director of the Islamic society of Nevada, Las Vegas and acting president of the Muslim Council of America, a Washington-based newly formed groups of Muslim activists.