26/07/2008 11:01:00 PM GMT
American Muslims are being urged to act to show Barack Obama that their votes will be crucial in the November election.
CHICAGO.— Disturbed by Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama's apathy to reach out to them, American Muslims are being urged to act to show the White House hopeful that their votes will be crucial in the November election.
"Muslims need to let Obama know that he has to earn their votes," Saaqib Rangoonwala, managing editor of Muslim magazine InFocus, told Reuters on Friday, July 25.
"American Muslim votes will be needed and it is time for Muslims to take a stand."
Obama has so far shied away from meeting Muslim imams publicly, unlike the rival candidates in the 2000 and 2004 elections.
He has yet to visit a mosque, despite his repeated visits to churches and synagogues.
Obama's campaign has also snubbed invitations from Muslim and Arab-American organizations to arrange a meeting with the Democratic nominee.
The Illinois Senator, who aspires to become the first black president in US history, has failed to send a surrogate to any Muslim event.
"Muslims are not less deserving of Obama's time than other groups that he has met with," said Rangoonwala.
America is home to between six to seven million Muslims making up less than three percent of the 300-million population.
More than two millions of them are registered voters.
Sixty-three percent of American Muslims are Democrats or leaning in that direction, according to a survey by the Pew Forum on Religion and Politics.
Only 11 percent of US Muslims are Republican.
The latest Fox News poll showed Obama leading Republican rival John McCain 41 to 40 percent among registered voters.
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The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) regretted failure by the Democratic nominee to reach out to Muslim voters.
"Many in the Muslim community think he is being sheepish in reaching out to them," said CAIR-Chicago executive director Ahmed Rehab.
He noted that American Muslims are showing a high level of interest in the November election, with the main issues being civil rights, the economy, immigration, Islamophobia and peace in the Middle East.
A recent survey by Pew Research Center and the Pew Forum found that attitudes toward Muslims and Islam have grown more negative in recent years.
Many Muslims are also insulted by what they see as Obama's "excessive" attempts to deny that he was a Muslim.
Obama, who describes himself as a proud follower of the Trinity United Church of Christ, has been outspoken in refuting claims that he is a Muslim in disguise.
The Democratic nominee is the son of a Muslim-turned-atheist Kenyan father and a white American mother that did not practice religion.
Abdulaziz Al-Salim, a 23-year-old Minnesota native, said he was sad that Obama acts as though "being associated with Muslims is a political liability."
Yet, he would vote for him "for the same reasons that everyone else is supporting him. He's a unifier, charismatic and represents change."
Source: IslamOnline
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