Bush's Muslim Backing

Khalid Suffari has spent the last several years working to bring American Muslims into the Republican fold and to get GOP officials to reach out to a community that holds dear the conservative social values upon which the party bases much of its appeal.

You would think, then, that Suffari would be overjoyed by the recent presidential endorsement Texas Gov. George W. Bush received from the American Muslim Political Coordination Council (AMPCC).

Not so.

"I frankly was surprised," said Suffari, executive director of the Islamic Institute, a Republican-affiliated, Washington-based lobbying group. "It came too fast. Bush says a few things Muslims want to hear, and boom, he gets the endorsement. They should have held out for more."

In announcing its support for Bush, the AMPCC's political action committee cited his support for ending the use of secret evidence in deportation cases and airline security profiling procedures that American Muslims say unfairly target them because of stereotypes linking them to Middle Eastern terrorists.

The group also said the Bush campaign was more open to Muslim overtures than was Vice President Al Gore, the Democratic candidate. Bush met with Muslim leaders on at least two occasions, in Michigan and Texas, publicly raised the secret evidence concerns during his second televised debate with Gore, and, during a Republican National Convention speech, included mosques among a list of houses of worship.

Although Gore later voiced opposition to the use of secret evidence and airline profiling, Bush went a step further by putting his support for the Muslim concerns in writing. That prompted Dr. Yahya Basha, president of the American Muslim Council--one of four groups that joined together to create the AMPCC--to laud Bush for having "shown a willingness to work with the American Muslim community in order to ensure that constitutional rights are protected and discriminatory practices are curbed."

For a community that believes bias has kept it from full participation in American politics, Bush's gestures were enough to gain him a potentially important endorsement. Muslim votes could tip the balance in close battleground states with large Muslim populations, such as Michigan. Given the presidential race's closeness, it could even mean the difference in the electoral college count.

But more went into the Bush endorsement than a few nods toward the Muslim community, estimated to number about 6 million--about the same size as the better organized and politically more powerful American Jewish community--and growing rapidly.

Muslim activists--including more than a few who are not all that enamored with Bush--took the step because they were anxious to nudge forward the long-term task of molding their ethnically and culturally diverse community into a cohesive voting bloc that future candidates will be unable to ignore.

Also important was the Middle East conflict, an issue made even more emotional than usual in recent weeks by the focus on Jerusalem holy sites and the violence that has overwhelmingly claimed Palestinian--and Muslim--lives.

"Really, they just wanted to endorse someone," Ihsan Bagby said of the AMPCC decision. "In truth, as far as I'm concerned, both Bush and Gore are slim pickings for Muslims. But it came down to political education. Politics 101 dictated that the community unite behind a candidate so we could show we can deliver votes.

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