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Muslim Americans Looking for More Help from Obama
By Michelle Boorstein
Insiders say the Obama Administration's honeymoon with the Muslim-American community will eventually expire.
Polling data isn't clear but civic groups and experts say the vast majority of Muslim- Americans voted for Obama, as many were fed up with the Republican Party's handling of civil liberties cases and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, among other issues. But they want to see results, both in terms of issues Muslim-Americans care about (domestically and overseas) but also giving them more access to the White House - a place largely shut to Muslims during the Bush years, they say.
So far, it's not clear which Muslim-Americans have the president's ear, whether on domestic terrorism surveillance or foreign policy in places like Turkey or the Palestinian territories. Obama named two Muslims to the advisory council that's part of the White House's Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, but community leaders note that while both are well-liked, neither are community-based, neither have a constituency. Eboo Patel, an "On Faith" panelist, comes from the minority Ismaili community (as opposed to the much larger Sunni or Shia groups) and is known as an interfaith activist, not a Muslim activist. Dahlia Mogahed is executive director of the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies.
The White House also is said to seek input from the two Muslim members of Congress - U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) and U.S. Rep. Andre Carson (D-Ind.). But so far there's no Muslim staffer in the White House liaison's office, which traditionally reaches out to the Jewish, Catholic and African-American communities, for example. President Bush did at one time have a Muslim liaison.
This whole subject - access, influence - is the source of a lot of debate among Muslim Americans. Some blame themselves, saying they need to build up their own institutions more, such as think tanks, civic groups and schools so they can produce more top-level leaders who will be able to influence policy and politics.
Others blame Obama, whose campaign distanced itself from several Muslim Americans for alleged distant links to terrorist groups. Several knowledgeable Muslim activists say the administration can't make decisions about prominent Muslim advisers because of the Holy Land terrorism financing case, which has drawn in several large, respected Muslim groups who have been labeled with the ambiguous "unindicted co-conspirator" label for the time being.
The honeymoon isn't over, insiders say, but eventually it will be. Muslim Americans want to see action on civil liberties issues, they want to see groups in the Holy Land case cleared and they want to see Obama make himself - or high-ranking officials - present at a major Muslim center, for example, or other events such as this summer's conference in Washington of the Islamic Society of North America.
By
Michelle Boorstein
|
May 19, 2009; 5:37 PM ET
| Category:
God in Government
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Posted by: a2zbuddy | May 22, 2009 12:51 PM
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The whole line of reasoning here is rather artificial--kind of like a generic article about some ethic/religious minority where you could have inserted any name and it would have read the same. Are there any American muslims who are really naive enough to believe that Obama isn't the best possible deal they are going to get for a very long time? And possibly the last person with muslim family ties to sit in the White House in their lifetimes? Are there any Muslims unaware of how their influence in American public life is already above and beyond what they could normally hope for based on population? We don't know the answers to those things because it isn't clear from the article whether Boorstein actually talked to anybody or whether she pulled these suppositions out of the air...
Posted by: razzl | May 21, 2009 11:25 AM
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I don't see the major Islamism teaching in-line with either party. It's very conservative but the GOP will have to change it's stance. Change and the GOP don't go together well.
The minor (only in power) Islamism teaching could go with democratics but that's a bit of a leap for them homosexaulty(I don't think so) And the saudis would decapitate any leader that got much progess.
Posted by: Nosmanic | May 21, 2009 2:39 AM
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I would like to know as to how many qualified American Muslims sent their resumes to the White House after the Fall elections.
President Obama has inherited a host of problems from the previous administration. He is trying to address several issues. The most important issue right now is the economic crisis.
I think American Muslims should take a delegation to the President and present their issues to the President. I am sure, he will listen and try to address them.
Posted by: hsnkhwj | May 20, 2009 10:50 PM
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Ms. Boorstein,
An important correction must be made that is unfortunately not widely recognized. The Ismailis represent the second largest school of thought within Shi'a Islam. The larger branch within Shi'a Islam is the Ithna'ashari school (predominant in Iran).
The Shi'a Ismailis and Shi'a Ithna'asharis have unique interpretations of history and philosophy but they are the largest branches of Shi'a Islam.
Posted by: garr123 | May 20, 2009 10:28 PM
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The comments to this entry are closed.
Michelle - Ismailis are a part of the Shia branch of Islam, not a separate group. They believe in Ali as the successor to Mohammad.
It basically works the same way as the Christian split between Catholic and Protestant... and Methodists being a type of Protestant.