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Elections 2000:

Metrowest Daily –Nov. 18, 2000
 

Muslim voters may have tipped the
presidential election in Bush's favor

by Micheal Kunzelman
Staff writer reports

A record number of Muslim first-time voters may have tipped the presidential election in George Bush's favor, according to a poll released yesterday by the Massachusetts chapter of the American Muslim Alliance. About 91 percent of Muslims in Florida cast ballots for Bush as part of an alliance endorsed voting bloc, said chapter chairman Tahir Ali, of Westborough. "The Muslims in America did have an impact in the presidential election this year." Ali said during an interview at the Islamic Center in Wayland. "If we had voted like we did in previous elections, guess who would be president right now? Al Gore." This was the first time the alliance, in conjunction with the American

Muslim Political Coordinating Council, has encouraged its members to vote for the same presidential candidate. "In the past," Ali added. "We would vote every which way and cancel each other out." The alliance also says Bush has been more willing to meet with Muslims and hear their concerns.

"He has definitely made an effort to communicate with Muslims," agreed alliance member Ruheena Razvi, 25, of Weston, "Al Gore just dismissed us from the beginning."In a national, post-election telephone poll of Muslim voters, the alliance found that more than 80 percent of them voted for Bush, compared to 10 percent for Raplh Nader and 9 percent for Gore. An even larger percentage of Florida's 60,000 eligible Muslim voters supported Bush, according to the survey.

"We wanted to send a message: We are here, we're here to stay, and we have a voice," said Dr. A. Karim Khudairi, an alliance member and Northeastern University biology professor. Muslims tended to vote according to issues and not party lines, Ali said.

"If there's a candidate that will serve the interests of the Muslim community, then that's the candidate we'll be voting for in the future," Khudairi said.

ìDr. Zafar Cheema, an alliance member, said the survey shows that the country's seven Million Muslims are a demographic that politicians can't afford to ignore. "Its an evolutionary process," Cheema added. "We're going through the first stages of that process."

Full Story on http://www.townonline.com/