Does anyone else feel troubled by Obama campaign not reaching out to US Muslim groups? [View All]

[TeamJordan23]

I know it not the most convenient approach for the Campaign to take. But Obama has reached out to Evengelicals, Christian Churchs, Catholics, and Jews. I think he should address some of the top Muslim leaders or groups in the US also during the campaign - especially the hit the Islam religion has taken in this country since 9/11. His principles should not be overshadowed for political convenience.

Obama Walks a Fine Line With Muslims
Campaign's Efforts to Dispel Rumors Risk Offending a Base of Support
By AMY CHOZICK
June 23, 2008

It is inaccurate to call Barack Obama a Muslim. Is it a slur?

The Obama campaign suggests it is. A new campaign Web site designed to air and rebut potentially damaging Internet rumors reads in one part: "Smear: Barack Obama is a Muslim... Truth: Sen. Obama has never been a Muslim, was not raised as a Muslim and is a committed Christian."

The characterization highlights a tricky balance the campaign is trying to strike: to tamp down false rumors -- intended by some to link the Democratic presidential candidate to radical Islam -- without offending Muslims and harming his image of inclusiveness.

Muslim-Americans have made up one of Sen. Obama's most loyal bases of support since he announced his candidacy last year. But lately some Muslims, concentrated in several battleground states, say they are having second thoughts over his campaign's ardent defense of his religious background.

"If he were a Muslim, so what? That insinuates that if he were a Muslim, he's automatically a jihadist. That's incredibly insulting to people of the Muslim faith and Arabs who are Christian," says Tony Kutayli, a spokesman for the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee and a Christian.

The issue flared up at a rally in Detroit last Monday, when two Muslim women in hijab, or traditional clothing, were asked to move when they sat behind the podium, where their headscarves would have appeared in photographs and on television with the candidate.

But recently some Muslim voters interviewed in swing states say they have noticed the disparity between his outreach to them and to other religions. The Obama campaign has embarked on a national effort to win support from devout Christian voters and make known the candidate's Christian faith. He visited a Boca Raton, Fla., synagogue, and he made a pro-Israel group his first stop after claiming enough delegates to secure the nomination earlier this month.

An Obama aide says that the campaign currently doesn't have any effort targeting Muslims and that campaign officials are relying on the Arab-American outreach efforts at the Democratic National Committee.

"The majority of our faith outreach, by and large, with some exceptions, is not faith specific. It is holistic," Mr. Vietor says.

Ginan Rauf, 46 years old, a secular Muslim and teacher in Franklin Lakes, N.J., is rethinking her support for the Democratic candidate. She volunteered to make calls on his behalf ahead of the March 4 Texas primary. Now she says she isn't sure she will vote for him.

"We're so hardened to Islamic-phobia, but a lot of us were surprised and hurt" by how Sen. Obama has responded to the Muslim rumors, Ms. Rauf says.

Minnesota Democratic Rep. Keith Ellison, one of two Muslim members of Congress and an Obama backer, says he would like to see the campaign more directly address the Muslim community. "I know his campaign is a little worried about how that could be twisted," Mr. Ellison says. "But I think you have to be careful not to start letting your detractors dictate who you talk to. Then you're not the captain of your own ship anymore."

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121417738005395419.html?mod=special_page_campaign2008_topbox