Muslims Could Prove Crucial in Election

[BlueNomad]

Oct 10, 12:42 PM EDT

Muslims Could Prove Crucial in Election

By WAYNE PARRY
Associated Press Writer

PATERSON, N.J. (AP) -- With more than 1,200 Muslims and Arab-Americans taken into custody after the Sept. 11 attacks, and a U.S.-led war raging in Iraq, many Muslims oppose George Bush in the November presidential election. But their voting for John Kerry is not a slam-dunk, either.

Muslims in New Jersey and across the country say they support the president on moral issues like abortion and gay marriage, but strongly favor Kerry because they oppose the war in Iraq and feel he'll end it sooner than Bush will. They also support Kerry because they think he has a stronger commitment to civil rights in the United States.

In an election that could once again be razor-close, the support of Muslims - whose estimated numbers nationwide range from 1.2 million to 7 million - could be crucial. The Bush and Kerry campaigns have courted Muslim voters, particularly in swing states like Ohio and Florida, as well as Michigan, which has the nation's largest Arab-American population.

"I can't see how any self-respecting American - forget about Arab-American or Muslim - can vote for President Bush, unless you're a total kook," said Hani Awadallah, president of the Arab-American Civic Organization. "This guy is bad for America, he's bad for the Constitution. He is the abyss.


"He has made America look so bad to the rest of the world," Awadallah said. "Muslims used to look at America as being on the side of the underdog. Now he's shown America to be a cowboy bully, and it will take 50 years to undo this image."....

<http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/MUSLIMS_PRESIDENTIAL_ELECTION?SITE=1010WINS&SECTION=POLITICS&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT>

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