Democratic Muslims unit with Kerry
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Democratic Muslims unit with Kerry
| Mon, 09-20-2004 - 12:12am |
8/28/2004 As a nationwide political force, American Muslims may not yet be huge, but in population they are — Muslims believe that Kerry will buck and run out of Iraq. Kerry is considered weak on defense !
Source Article: CNN News

Maybe you have another place you'd like everyone to send their contributions? Heard "Closed Minds For Bush?" is running low on oil money & could use a little help.
I believe this part of your post is your own words and not that of CNN. I tried looking for it on CNN however I could not find it, but I did happen to find it on FOX news.
I would like to know why you didn't post the original link with your article? I am just suggesting that when you post partial or full articles, to please post the link with it. I am also suggesting if you can keep your own words seperate from the article or make it perfectly clear that your words are not that of the article. You made it sound that CNN is saying that Kerry will just leave Iraq, and that is why muslims will be voting for him.
Now here is the full article that I found, with the exact title of yours and some of the same words. Please tell me if this is a different article than the one you were quoting. Also can you please tell me where there is any indication of this article that muslims feel that (in your words) "Muslims believe that Kerry will buck and run out of Iraq. Kerry is considered weak on defense !"?????? Thanks!!!! :-)
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,127249,00.html
Democratic Muslims Unite for Kerry
Tuesday, July 27, 2004
By Kelley Beaucar Vlahos
STORIES
BOSTON — As a nationwide political force, American Muslims may not yet be huge, but in population they are — and Democratic Muslims Tuesday heralded their 40 delegates to the Democratic National Convention as their biggest contingent yet.
"Muslims need to be involved in politics," said Zafar Tahir, 42, a Pakistani-born American who calls himself an "American first. An American leader who happens to be Muslim." Tahir is one of seven Muslim delegates from Texas at the convention this year to throw support to John Kerry (search ). He said he has a strong message to other Muslim-Americans and new immigrants to this country.
"Learn the system, learn the process — be a part of the process here," he said. Then, pointing to his suit lapel, where he had a pin memorializing the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, he added, "What happened on 9/11 was very important. I think Muslims should be as patriotic as anybody."
According to some experts, more than 3 million of the nation's 6 to 8 million-strong Muslim population voted in the 2000 presidential election. Analysts say that a strong majority voted for George W. Bush (search) after an aggressive push by Republicans to get American Muslims behind a unified voting bloc.
But not every Muslim agrees that's how it went down. "I challenge that. I was a Democrat then and I am a Democrat now," Tahir said.
Gathering at the Islamic Society of Boston (search) in Cambridge on Tuesday, Muslim delegates and local leaders said the Democratic Party offers more to Muslims, particularly recent immigrants. They cite the prospect of equal treatment and justice.
"The Republican Party has been a disappointment for them," Zeenat Khan, an American-born woman of Indian background and member of the Massachusetts State Democratic Party, said, referring to the immigrant population. She said many Muslims have been disenchanted by President Bush's foreign policy, particularly the war in Iraq.
"They are against the war in Iraq," she said, as well as what they see as discriminatory measures in the USA Patriot Act (search), the legal framework for prosecuting the War on Terror (search).
"It looks like he's become a lot more aggressive than we thought," said Texas delegate Majedah Elazzah, who immigrated to the United States from Jordan 20 years ago. "He's caused more damage than Saddam Hussein himself. The way he handles foreign policy is not healthy."
But not every Democratic Muslim is as critical. "I bring a different perspective," said Tahir, who agrees that the former Iraqi leader had to go, but wants to see more resources focused on Afghanistan (search), where he believes the terrorist threat still seriously exists.
Meanwhile, Texas delegate Inayat Lalani, 65, a retired surgeon from India, said it is the failure of American Muslims that they have not projected a greater sense of empathy and unity with other non-Muslims, particularly after Sept. 11. He also said that aside from their differences, Muslim Americans like himself are coalescing around an anti-war, civil liberties platform.
"We have some really dynamic people; we have a formula to get all the groups together," whether it be Sunnis or Shiites or Muslims from different sects to get on board with the Democratic agenda, said Lalani.
But these delegates freely admit they aren't as unified with their Democratic cohorts on social issues, particularly on gay marriage (search) or abortion (search).
"Personally, I am as far left as I can get, but I don't think I speak for all Muslims on those issues," said Lalani.
Lalani said Republicans have squandered the headway they made with the Muslim community before Sept. 11 when they reached out on civil liberties (search) issues, like the use of secret evidence against Muslim immigrants in federal prosecutions by the Clinton administration. Much of that goodwill was lost, he claimed, after Christian conservatives like Pat Robertson (search), who are close to the Bush administration, made comments calling the Muslim faith violent.
"They get the red carpet treatment at the White House — what are we supposed to make of that?" he said
... We are not and never have been the crazed killers we have been portrayed to be for
so many years in movies and on TV, in part, because of Kerry's lies.". ... NY TIMES
"Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we."—Washington, D.C., Aug. 5, 2004
"Karyn is with us. A West Texas girl, just like me."—May 27, 2004
GOV. BUSH: "Because the picture on the newspaper. It just seems so un-American to me, the picture of the guy storming the house with a scared little boy there. I talked to my little brother, Jeb...I haven't told this to many people. But he's the governor of...I shouldn't call him my little brother...my brother, Jeb, the great governor of Texas." JIM
LEHRER: "Florida." GOV. BUSH: "Florida. The state of the Florida."
-The NewsHour With Jim Lehrer, April 27, 2000
"We spent a lot of time talking about Africa, as we should. Africa is a nation that suffers from incredible disease."—GW Bush, Gothenburg, Sweden, June 14, 2001
''I know what I believe. I will continue to articulate what I believe and what I believe—I believe what I believe is right."—Rome, July 22, 2001
"Do you have blacks, too?"—To Brazilian President Fernando Cardoso, Washington, D.C., Nov. 8, 2001
We need an energy bill that encourages consumption."—Trenton, N.J., Sept. 23, 2002
"First, let me make it very clear, poor people aren't necessarily killers. Just because you happen to be not rich doesn't mean you're willing to kill."—Washington, D.C., May 19, 2003
"I glance at the headlines just to kind of get a flavor for what's moving. I rarely read the stories, and get briefed by people who are probably read the news themselves."—Washington, D.C., Sept. 21, 2003
"See, free nations are peaceful nations. Free nations don't attack each other. Free nations don't develop weapons of mass destruction."—Milwaukee, Wis., Oct. 3, 2003
"Just remember it's the birds that's supposed to suffer, not the hunter."—Advising quail hunter and New Mexico Sen. Pete Domenici, Roswell, N.M., Jan. 22, 2004
"I was a prisoner too, but for bad reasons."—To Argentine President Nestor Kirchner, on being told that all but one of the Argentine delegates to a summit meeting were imprisoned during the military dictatorship, Monterrey, Mexico, Jan. 13, 2004