Interesting!

[ProSense]

How Washington speaks to Muslims
By Dominic Casciani
BBC News community affairs

In the dark: Does Washington underestimate Muslims?
In the midst of a war in Iraq and domestic fear of Islamist-inspired terrorism - how should western governments approach their Muslim minorities and the Arab world?

Perhaps a good place to start is to listen to the views of top lobbyist Hady Amr. He was probably the highest ranking Arab-Muslim American in the Clinton Administration - and has spent his years since trying to work out how the US government and Muslims talk to each other.

Last week, the Lebanese-born policy analyst came to London to speak to the City Circle, an influential London-based organisation which promotes the development of a distinctive British Muslim identity.

Snip...

The past decade has also seen Muslims in the US tend to follow the national political mood in presidential elections. They voted Clinton and then marginally backed Bush over Gore. However, in 2004, they tended to back the eventual loser John Kerry.

Snip...

"What the numbers tell me is that Arab Muslims were pretty much like any other American, until 2004," he says.

"You don't see massive disparities where they vote en masse for Democrats or Republicans. It's only in 2004 that things change and that is very much down to the war in Iraq and the Patriot Act (the major piece of post-9/11 anti-terrorism legislation).

Chart:

MUSLIM VOTING IN THE US
1996: 56% for Clinton
2000: 46% for Bush
2004: 63% for Kerry (Arab Americans)
2004: 76% for Kerry (all Muslims)
Source: Project MAPS, Zogby

more...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/5187008.stm

[karynnj]

1. Interesting

Kind of blows a hole in Bush's claim to be fighting for the sake of freedom and a better life in the middle east. (It would be good to see the 1992 Clinton numbers against Bush 1.