As Obamamania continues to capture the imagination of the United States, parts of the American Muslim community are no less overcome by the Illinois Senator's charismatic and overpowering vision for change. It makes sense. He is a man of diverse ethnic background who seeks dialogue over war, who can credibly represent change given his independence from establishment politics and whose life story suggests an intimate understanding of the Muslim world. In many ways he represents more than Muslims could have hoped for given the radioactive nature of Islam in America over the past several years. Someone who seemingly has a sympathetic ear and background that could build bridges.

But for many reasons, Muslims are one constituency Obama does not want to court. With a wink and a nod, Obama's Muslim supporters continue to work for a candidate who cannot afford to wink back at them. Given his perceived "closeness" to Islam, and the fact that he shares a name with a former Iraqi dictator, it could be strategic suicide for the Obama campaign to vocally acknowledge organized Muslim support. At a time when endorsements are worn like badges of honor, no major candidate is looking for the Muslim vote.

No doubt if Obama wins the nomination, the Republicans will exploit this issue far more than Bill Clinton attempted to manipulate race in South Carolina. McCain will never have to say a word, the "hit job" will be manufactured and executed by his friends on Fox News, via the airwaves with Rush and Hannity (who would have overcome their issues with McCain by then) and through tabloids like the New York Post. Vocal Muslim support for Obama, if it happens, will likely be used as subtext for character attacks against his background and to fuel baseless rumors that he is actually a stealth Islamist who will subvert the establishment after taking power.

As Don Imus can attest, racism and bigotry against African Americans is now largely unacceptable in public discourse. However, the same cannot be said of vitriol against Muslims. Attacking Obama for his pseudo-association with Islam is a far safer and more acceptable strategy for right-wing zealots than attacking him for being black. So if Obama has a campaign strategist worth his or her weight, we will never hear any serious public support or defense of Muslims from him or his campaign. For Muslims to demand anything from him simply demonstrates a misunderstanding of reality. Muslim support for Obama is akin to George Bush's support for democracy in the Middle East. The mere association with the former will undercut the credibility of the latter. It is an analogy that Muslims should understand.

Obama's lack of public defense of Islam is not so much an indictment against him as it is a demonstration of the infantile state of Muslim political participation in America. While it is impossible to tell, it would be reasonable to assume that if Obama could say something nice about Muslims he would because he wants votes from any and all Americans. Muslims fit squarely into the demographic that he appeals to most - professional, educated and young. The only reason a candidate like Obama would not say something nice about Muslims is because he is making a clear political calculation. The votes he would gain from Muslims are far less than the votes he would lose from his association with Muslims.

This should be startling. Unfortunately it has not initiated the kind of discussion within the community necessary to change these political ramifications for candidates in the future. To be fair, other candidates have lost votes based on their religious affiliation. Romney, a practicing Mormon, could have had a much better shot as the Republican nominee if he were from a Protestant denomination. But in terms of public perception, Muslims are a whole other category of disrepute. We are not talking about a Muslim candidate, we are talking about supporting a candidate who denies any connection, real or perceived, to Islam.

This is a political reality that Muslims in America must face. It is a clear demonstration that the collective efforts of Muslim institution building over the last 20 years have largely failed to make any real progress when it comes to impacting the American political process, at least at the national level. Muslims have found the perfect candidate, but cannot vocally support him for fear that if they do, they may be the reason he loses. How is that for a wake-up call.

At the core of the problem is the public perception of Islam in America. While global events, and of course 9/11, play an undeniable role in shaping the image of Islam for Americans, Muslims have ignored establishing some of the most basic institutions that are necessary for any minority community who seeks to have their voice taken seriously. There are no widely circulated national publications that explain Muslim perspectives. There is no widely recognized think tank expressing Muslim understandings of policy debates. There are a scant few public intellectuals from Muslim backgrounds that articulate mainstream views or who represent general Muslim thinking. While there are a number of very talented Muslim academics, very few have been able to cross-over and achieve mainstream credibility. Every other minority community has multiple inventories in each category listed above. What Muslims have are a number of smaller efforts that lack support, lack funding and lack human resources. If Muslims have failed in all these arenas it is not for a lack of talent, but rather for a lack of collective vision.

Instead, Muslims have invested in a handful of advocacy groups that, to their credit, work extremely hard to bring a "Muslim" slant to whatever breaks in the news that day. Advocacy groups play an important part of any community, but they are not sufficient for any community to make a serious play for political clout. In fact, the degree to which Muslims are publicly represented by their advocacy is inversely related to how they will be positively perceived by the general public. Advocacy groups are inherently divisive. The NAACP, the ACLU and other groups all play important roles in American democracy, but they are also polarizing organizations. Muslims need to take the edge off the way they present themselves in the broader public discussion. While this includes important and pioneering efforts like Unity productions, which has produced excellent work in the area of documentary film, much more is needed on a number of different fronts.

Policy and political decision making in America is not decided entirely on Capitol Hill. It is decided in the complex interaction of think tanks, academic institutions, book stands, radio shows, the evening news, newspapers, op-ed pages, opinion polls, Hollywood blockbusters and much more. It is the confluence and interaction of all these institutions that inform how politicians behave, not the other way around. Politicians are simply seeking votes, and votes are determined by people's inclinations, perceptions, prejudices and perspectives. If you want to win politicians, you have to build constituencies by changing the way people think.

If Muslims do not want to suffer the indignation of political irrelevance for many elections to come, instead of giving money to politicians, they should start investing in journalism scholarships. They should establish fellowships for Muslim academics to take a year off and write a book for a general audience, and then back them up with a PR firm to get the book on a best seller list. They should invest in publications that demonstrate a breadth and depth of thinking on a range of issues. They should invest in think tanks that analyze public issues and present actual value to the overall public discussion. All of these institutions exist right now for Muslims in America. But for the most part they are underfunded, underappreciated and undervalued. Because the community in general has not rallied behind them, they are for the most part invisible. Because they are invisible, Muslims are effectively invisible when it comes to Obama or any other serious candidate.

Another real tragedy here is that the part of the Muslim community that has made significant headway in all these areas, the African-American community, remains effectively marginalized from leadership roles in the larger Muslim establishment in America. African American Muslims have been civicaly, politically and socially engaged in America centuries. The rest of the Muslim community discovered these words a few years after 9/11. If all Muslims did was change the public perception of Islam in America to identify more with African American Islam than Arab or Pakistani Islam, the community would move forward in leaps and bounds. It is no accident that the first Muslim congressman is black. Until the Muslim leadership in America begins to recognize and reflect this historical reality, progress on a number of fronts will be slow. The Middle East and the subcontinent will remain powder kegs for decades to come.

Muslims largely misunderstand the process by which minority communities in America achieve their proverbial "seat at the table." It is not achieved through campaign donations and political posturing. It is achieved through understanding and executing on a collective vision that nurtures real, active, social, economic and political participation that improves both one's own community and the broader community that surrounds it. It is achieved through understanding that public perception is not entirely devised by a select few, but rather it is earned through hard work and sacrifice. It is achieved when a community actually adds some value to the society from which it benefits.

There is little strategic understanding of how to develop political capital within the Muslim community in America. If there was, Obama would not have to rebuke his Muslim supporters. The proof is in the pudding. Either Muslims deal with it, or do as they have done for the last 25 years: simply blame the media.

Photo: Jason Tinder via flickr under a Creative Commons license.

this line captures it perfectly:

"Muslim support for Obama is akin to George Bush's support for democracy in the Middle East. The mere association with the former will undercut the credibility of the latter. It is an analogy that Muslims should understand."

the irony in all of this is that it was open and vocal support of Bush by Muslims in 2000 which led to this state of affairs, based predominantly on having a very superficial understanding of politics, political allegiance, and political rhetoric when it comes to elections. Furthermore, there were and still are many fools who think that Bush's democracy program for the Middle East was/is sincere or had a chance -- witness the laughing and ridicule that followed showcasing "American" Muslims on al-Jazeera and other international satellite channels immediately post 9/11, the annual iftars with Bush every Ramadan, meetings with Karen Hughes (who herself has resigned from this position after grasping what you wrote above), as well as the continuous pandering to the idea of "spreading democracy" in the Muslim world by Muslim speakers every summer and fall at the annual Islamic conventions.

In short, there are still people living with blinders on about the state of affairs of the world today and of how that has affected public perception and public policy.

regards,
skh

I'm a Brit with a disabled child and I listened to Obama talking about his plans for disability law in the USA, drawing on his own family experience. I was very impressed. But didn't he once talk about bombing Pakistan?

Good article. Although, are their documented instances where he has in-fact rebuffed muslim support? Lacks concrete examples and solutions...

"If all Muslims did was change the public perception of Islam in America to identify more with African American Islam than Arab or Pakistani Islam, the community would move forward in leaps and bounds."

Although I generally agree with the thrust of this statement, it would be a mistake for us to suddenly turn our backs on "Arab or Pakistani Islam" just as it is a mistake for us to marginalize Black Muslims in the first place. Events in Pakistan, for example, with the "cases of the disappeared", the impact of globalisation, and other internal conflicts are directly linked to the economic, political and cultural developments in the US. It would be irresponsible on our part to neglect to make sense of these developments in the old world.

Obama has many Muslim friends. As far as I know, he once went to SearchingMuslim.com to communicate with American Muslim and made Muslim friends there.

"If all Muslims did was change the public perception of Islam in America to identify more with African American Islam than Arab or Pakistani Islam, the community would move forward in leaps and bounds."

I must strongly disagree with this statement. The Church of Islam is notoriously racist. If all American Muslims associated themselves with that group it would be only to their detriment in the public eye.

God said all races are equal. That seems pretty simple to me--no race is superior.

My husband and I are conservatives. If Obama wins the primary, we will be voting for him for President in the main election. He seems to be the only honest one of all the candidates.

how do you root for a candidate who doesn't want you to root for him?

you don't.

to continue with kwaleed's point- "The mere association with the former will undercut the credibility of the latter. It is an analogy that Muslims should understand."

possibly we could understand this- but the understanding generates the awareness that he is not on 'our' side.

proposing as a solution, to educate more journalists-
what exactly will these journalists be writing about?

muslims need to clean up their own communities before they can start to justify them in the media.
and i haven't seen that done.

america has had boatloads of foreigners contribute to our society.
the japanese, whose culture is very very different from ours- and also had the disadvantage of being in an active war with america- and interred in camps-
managed to overcome society's prejudices by taking care of their own community-

i went to 2 ISNA conventions- and at each- i got a list of every charity organization there-
over 40 all told.

there was not one single org that had any association with american charity.

as if this community doesnt matter- or there are no muslims in need here.

my own mosque sent 2 homeless women to live with me, (and a pregnant cat) without even a piece of bread- and i was barely supporting myself at the time.

its not up to muslims to become beggars for a nod from a candidate-
and its not up to the average american to go out of their way to understand muslims-

if we put some effort into making a potent and visible contribution and committment to american society-


or at the very least- take care of our own in a compassionate manner- we will be recognized and embraced.
(ive been to mosques all over america, and nothing empties a room- or starts a proposal of 'forming a committee' faster than an appeal for volunteers.)

i have a list as long as my arm about frustrated experiences with trying to get muslims to do something, anything- for people in their own community-

if people see good actions coming from muslims, eventually- it will take hold of their psyche.
then people would depend upon thei own experiences instead of fox news-
countering negative protrayals with, "hey, i work with a muslim, or i saw a muslim at my community meeting riding mrs. jones home, and they are a good person"- or any small act of kindness and constructive behavior will change the perceptions of muslims in america.

you have to have something to base your PR campaign upon!

people don't want to hear what we SHOULD do as muslims- but what we ARE doing as muslims. the former is just flat, unconvincing apologist rhetoric.

4 years ago- in chicago at the muslim community center- obama was scheduled to appear with several local politicians.

i spent most of the evening with the director (we were both token white americans) and not only did obama never show, or send a rep-
he never even gave a courtesy call-

that's just bad manners- i know a few muslims were feeling 'rebuffed' at that. (as most of them were there to see obama- he was the 'big name'.)

the political pressures that preclude obama from recognizing and publicly supporting the muslim community will not lessen, but increase if he becomes president.

if we develop a crush on obama, as a whole- we realy should not wait in dysfunctional expectation for recognition that is never likely to come.

Muslims are unfortunately not like any other minority group, e.g. spanish, black, jewish, gay, etc. So trying to mimick such groups in the political arena is not possible. And this is for several reasons.

========== Women
Islamic treatment of women would be considered medieval by today's "equal status" standards. So Muslims would always be on the defensive trying to fit in a Western society.

========== With Us or Against Us
As a religion that replaces Christianity and Judaism, Islam will always be at odds with these religious groups. One can be Christian and Gay, or Christian and Black or Christian and Spanish, but one cannot be Christian and Muslim. So that automatically creates a built in animosity. Muslims in Western socities try their best to act all accomodating and kiss-up to the Christians, highlighting their similarities. But unfortuantely, a precursory look at the Qur'an and all that goes up in smoke. Phtttt.

========== Military Industrial Booze Porno Complex
Then there is the problem of the Booze, Porn (TV) and Weapons of Mass Destruction. If you are Spanish, or Gay, or Jewish or Black, there is no problem whatsoever boozing up, watching nudity on TV, smoking and building these monster weapons with which to go bomb "filthy-rich Moslems" down there in the desert. Good for the economy, would'nt you say. But if you are an "American-Moslem", well, you are basically marginalized in a Western society.

>>African American Muslims have been civicaly, politically and socially engaged in America centuries. <<

I would have to disagree with that whole thought process. This whole idea that African Muslims came here centuries ago and immigrant Muslims just showed up last year is a farce that the local African-American Muslim community tries to promote in order to distance themselves from the general Muslim body due to their preceived marginilization. There was no Islam in America 1800 - 1920. Period.

It is only after the Muslims from the Arab World started to come to America at the turn of the last century that Islam spread in America. The Arabs (Fard Muhammad) first introduced Islam to Elijah Muhammad who then made up a mumbo jumbo "Black Muslim" religion out of it to further his cause. It was from this group of people that most African-American Muslims have now entered into mainstream Islam, the biggest catalyst of course being the experience of one man, namely Malcolm X.

Among other local American populations, majority of Islamic presence among whites and Spanish can be directly traced directly to the work of the Professional Class of Muslim immigrants who came here in the 1970s and spread Islam inadvertantly among their colleagues at school and at work and later built all the so-called "Arab-Pakistani Mosques".

Now that the indigineous Muslims have all of a sudden "discovered" Islam, they are now all in a hurry to distance themselves from this so-called "immigrant Islam", was it not for which, they would still be steeped in Jahaliyya.

Little wonder there is no cohesion among the Muslim community in America.

I keep hearing this nonsense that Obama is "not good" for Muslims. Tell me, which candidate IS good for Muslims? NONE. Obama is running for president of AMERICA. If you want a leader for Muslims, move to a Muslim country.

>>>local African-American Muslim community tries to promote in order to distance themselves from the general Muslim body due to their preceived marginilization.<<<

hajibaba perceived marginalization? You have got to be kidding me. Muslims from quote on quote "Muslim countries" who have immigrated here have been marginalizing black Muslims for years. My family is South Asian, and I can tell you based on experience that racism towards black Muslims is predominant in immigrant Muslims.

And how can you, yourself, marginalize the hundreds of years of slavery and horrendous kidnapping from Africa to various countries around the world INCLUDING the new world?? And this long before immigration was common practice. African Americans have fought to be integrated, and are still fighting. Muslim immigrants will now too have to fight for their right of integration.

>>> Among other local American populations, majority of Islamic presence among whites and Spanish can be directly traced directly to the work of the Professional Class of Muslim immigrants who came here in the 1970s and spread Islam inadvertantly among their colleagues at school and at work and later built all the so-called "Arab-Pakistani Mosques".

Tons of evidence to the contrary ... including the rise of internationalism as a global political ideal, the influence of African American muslims (or do people like Malcolm X and Mohammed Ali not factor into the spread of popular sentiment?), sincere seeking just through personal study, not to forget the whole bunch of Patels all over the place and the differing Sufi movements. Yet again ... where do you come up with this stuff!! Its annoying that you use so little information to represent so much. Misrepresentation is no different from lying in my books.

Ghulam = Hillary Clinton = accusing others of misrepresentation etc.
Hajibaba = Barak Obama = eloquent, profound, presidential

i hadn't even noticed that comjecture on hajibaba's part-

well, as a case in point- i'm white- and did not come to islam through association with arabs, pakistanis, or for that matter any muslim anywhere.
i simply did not know a muslim until i had decided through prayer, reading and study to become one-

having lived in chicago for 5 years i alos found a great deal of discomfort in the (what i perceive as) indoctrination of the african american community by asian muslims.

(chicago is the home of the nation of islam- which went through its own evolutionary process devoid of any influence from other muslims also)

where are you living hajibaba?

your comments on american life seem cartoonish and filled with uninformed speculation based on some strange cultural prejudice-

>> having lived in chicago for 5 years i alos found a great deal of discomfort in the (what i perceive as) indoctrination of the african american community by asian muslims <<

This is TOTAL B.S. In Chicago, the black Muslim community and the Asian Muslim community have little to do with each other!!! In Chicago, the Black muslim community is entirely centered in the South-Southeast segment where Imam Waris Deen's organization and the Nation of Islam are based. There are hardly any Professional class immigrants there and no mosques of such either. All immigrant Muslims are in the Southwest Suburns, West-side and North, where the blacks are very few anyway.

Waris Deen's organization represents the majority of mainstream Black Muslims and they are pretty isolated from immigrant people. The recent tide of Salafi Blacks are more likely to interact with immigrants, but they are pretty much "Arabized" due to their high level of Islamic knowledge and have more in commmon wih Immigrant Muslims then Waris Deen Black Muslims.

Dude, I am sorry but you dont know diddly about Chicago Muslims. Jeez. Probably a new convert at the time I am sure and a bit wet behind the ears. Whatever somebody fed you, you took as fact.

CORRECTION:

Mrs.A. = Hillary Clinton = middle aged white un-informed female
Hajibaba = Barak Obama = eloquent, profound, presidential
Ghulam = Mitt Romney = Moron

>> This is TOTAL B.S. In Chicago, the black Muslim community and the Asian Muslim community have little to do with each other!!!

Wow .. it seems that other people in your own environment have somehow eluded your all-encompassing semi-literate stereotypes. So when Hajibaba openly lies but doesn't even know it, it can't be hypocrisy, what is it I wonder. What I also find amazing is the muslims on this site who produce evidence, are ignored in preference of name calling and heresay. I bet you have a special shariah crafted just for you.

that's dudette to you mr hajibabab-

i don't even know where to start with you hajibaba-

so i wont- but speaking of hypocrisy, and the southside of chicago-
and barak obama- one time i went to the bud milliken parade ( a very big event- about 6 hours long) and at one point- michelle obama appeared waving on top of an escalade, she was wearing torn jeans, a drumpled semi dirty t-shirt half tucked in and out- and her hair was crazy undone- then she made a small speech- and actually referred to barak as her "baby daddy" (not baby's daddy even you'll notice)

some of the crowd bought it- but i thought it was really over the top in the way of pandering, as i knew she was going to a state dinner that evening and can only assume her demeanor and dress would morph accordingly.

im still not on the obama bandwagon- not because i disagree with his policies-
i just can't figure out what they are.

politicians stump- its what they do-
i dont blame him especially for that-

but i dont see the big change- maybe someone else could enlighten me-

>> as if this community doesnt matter- or there are no muslims in need here.

Very true indeed. However, I've found that political movements and social integration can be made through avenues outside the normal political realm. What is telling is that an isolationist view still takes hold of the majority of the minority muslim communities in the world. It's as if muslims must out of necessity split themselves into two camps, anti-establishment non-westerners or pro-western modernizers/innovators. What a silly thing to do to ourselves when in reality 99percent of us are neither!

Obama is an American politician. The American political institution needs to evolve, for everyones sake. Within the current context however, Obama can offer inroads where other politicians offer none. Whether muslims find common ground and pursue those courses of action are wholly an internal community problem. He offers dialogue and a commitment to change. Bush/Republicans have never offered that. Hillary doesn't either. Ron Paul hopes it will fix itself.

One spiritual community, Different perspectives.

I would like to see a famous American Muslim (Muhammad Ali?) stand up for both Obama and Muslims and address this latest episode of Fear Factor...

Here's my problem with the Muslim demographic and the plight of the American Muslim. As great as it is to acknowledge yourself as a Muslim and to live by the religious practices and ideals that Islam represents, until we start realizing that: a) there will never be a candidate in the next 50 years who will whole-heartedly accept the Muslim block support; and 2) we stop fixating on what the incentives are for voting on a candidate based on what he will represent for Muslims in the next election, we will never understand the political system.

This country isn't based on religion--and if there is one that could remotely represent America, it would be WASP Protestant. But even that is questionable. I mean think about it--this is a country that now doesn't even require you to stand up for the Pledge of Allegiance; that you have the right to show no respect to God. You can be a Nazi and advocate your opinion to hate minorities, and you will actually get police protaction to do so. Yes, one can argue that the Jews are arguably a powerful secular force. Well that's because they have money and they control the media. But if you look at them, behind closed political doors, they're still mocked and jeered. There's no love for them. They are a demographic that can feed you an endless supply of cash and of course, stories which have beautiful spins to make you look good. Sure they get the sympathy of the American public--but not the politicians. Vis a vis, you have us-Unfortunately with our tarnished image and bad stereoptype throughout the world, do you actually blame a candidate who doesn't verbally recognize us? As the article mentioned, it would be political suicide, especially running for the Presidency.

What Muslims need to do is start recognizing that as American Muslims, they need to vote for the candidate that is going to provide them with the best health benefits; the better social security and pension plans; a reduction on college and educational expenses; a tax relief on homes, and a somewhat "balanced" foreign policy. This is the template that you should be creating your decisions with. If you sit there and contemplate which candidate will do more for the Palestinians, or if he will be accepting the endorsement of MPAC, ISNA, APNA, etc; or what your local Muslim community center is going to gain, you're going to never pick anyone.