Assalamu aleikum and welcome to a post-electoral celebratory update of the altmuslim newsletter. After all the poll-watching and hand-wringing, Barack Hussein Obama has prevailed to become the next President of the United States - and not by a small margin. Formerly red states such as North Carolina, Iowa, and Indiana flipped to the Democratic side and quickly propelled Obama to 365 electoral votes (Missouri is still in play, not that it matters). One pundit noted that Dick Cheney finally got to see people running out in the streets greeting an American liberator - though probably not what he had in mind. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinijad has already put one of Obama's campaign talking points (or gaffes, as McCain saw it) about talking to enemies without preconditions to the test by sending him a
greeting (Obama says he will respond "appropriately"). For other Muslims
around the world, there is guarded optimism that the policies of President George Bush will be broken down. Indeed, Obama is planning to repeal up to hundreds of Bush's
executive orders, covering an array of issues from stem cell research to environmental regulation. Most dramatic (if it occurs on day one of an Obama presidency) would be the
closing of Guantanamo Bay prison and the transfer of its detainees to American soil to face charges in US courts. Here's hoping.
This week, we're running a three-part series of articles examining what Barack Obama's election means for Muslims in the US and around the world - starting with a look at the anti-Muslim imagery that made up much of the McCain-Palin campaign's strategy over the past year - and why they failed. Up now is the second in the series on how the Muslim electorate in the US has evolved and why the old strategies have failed. We will also speak more on the subject of Calfornia's controversial Proposition 8, and why Muslims might want to think more carefully about the issue of same-sex marriage in the future. Also, more movie reviews coming and broadened partnerships with other emerging Muslim media, all the while hoping and praying for the holy grail of daily content. Interviews with us on Press TV and Ireland's Radio 1 regarding race, religion and the US elections are available on the front sidebar.
Not wasting any time, President-elect Obama made his first staff pick with Illinois congressman and former Clinton (Bill) advisor Rahm Emanuel. Emanuel has earned a reputation as a hyper-partisan attack dog, which seems to us appropriate at first glance if he would be considered a Democratic Karl Rove. But other aspects of his political background are giving Muslims pause. Emanuel is the son of Israeli immigrants and served as a citizen volunteer in the Israeli army during the first Gulf War in 1991 (not that Israel was part of that). Although he toes the line on most Democratic policy positions, he is less committed on two items sensitive to Muslims - the Iraq War (he is more hesitant to withdraw) and immigration (cooperating with anti-immigrant congressmen like Republican Tom Tancredo). So what affect will this have as Obama's chief of staff? If we want to give Obama the benefit of the doubt, Emanuel is well served for the primary responsibilties of his position - managing and protecting Obama's inner circle with an iron fist. To the extent that he will influence Obama adversely on the Israel/Palestine question, it bears reminding that Obama's friendship with Palestinian professor Rashid Khalidi came to light when he attended a dinner in Khalidi's honor - right in the middle of his campaign. Emanuel's relationship with Obama is too long lasting (and Emanuel too qualified) to consider his appointment a reaction to the Khalidi story. Nevertheless, Obama has referred to Khalidi as someone who challenges his "own biases." Will Emanuel reinforce them, or will Obama be strategic enough to find a practical middle ground?
