Dr. Dean Is Calling, but Are Muslim Voters Answering?

By Shadi Hamid

Sometimes, an overwhelming desire comes takes hold of me. In this state of near deliriousness, I surf the Internet for any article that has anything to do with the Democratic presidential primaries. Contrary to what many commentators, writers, and pundits have said, I have found the primaries to be exciting and—on certain days of the week—close to fascinating.

Anyway, a few nights ago, I was specifically interested in reading what the media has said about the role of Muslims in the 2004 elections. Needless to say, I found very little. I had heard recently about a group called “Muslims for Kucinich” so I was curious if there were any “Muslims for Dean” or “Muslims for Clark” or perhaps “Muslims for Sharpton.” As I should have suspected, there were no such groups, which leads me to my first point - where the heck are the Muslims? Have they decided to hibernate until Bush goes away?

Americans, as a whole, have suffered a great deal from the Bush presidency. The disastrous, shockingly parochial and pork-filled Medicare and energy bills that were just passed are cases in point. But it would appear that American Muslims, specifically, more so than any other group, have a particularly strong interest in unseating Bush come 2004. After all, our civil liberties have been mercilessly attacked by John Ashcroft and friends. Christian fundamentalists close to the Bush administration have branded Islam as an evil, violent religion and American Muslims as a nefarious fifth column (i.e. Franklin Graham, Pat Robertson). Bush’s Mid-East policy sometimes seems to be a perfect example of What Not To Do if you want to make the Arab and Muslim world like America. I am not exaggerating when I say that I have yet to meet a Muslim anywhere in the world who says that he or she likes Bush. And I have yet to meet a Muslim anywhere in the United States who says that he or she will vote for Bush come next year (if you happen to be from the dying - if not plain-out extinct - breed of pro-Bush Muslims, please email me).

With all of this in mind, you would think that American Muslims would be organizing like crazy, helping the leading democratic campaigns (i.e, Dean, Kerry, Clark) in battleground states. There are around 7 million of us in America (almost all of whom are angry at Bush), so you would think that there would be at least a few Muslims running around Iowa knocking on doors, canvassing streets, and drinking coffee in Cedar Rapids before Jum’ah prayer. But if you thought any of these things, you would be wrong.

The lack of Muslim participation is bizarre (but not entirely unexpected) and remains one of the few compelling mysteries of the early campaign season. After all, it would seem that American Muslims have a double imperative for getting involved. As concerned Americans, we have a responsibility to participate in our country’s political process and to be active citizens. As Muslims, we have the responsibility - if not the outright duty - to help our country become more just and equitable in its dealings with its own citizens and with the Muslim world at-large.

But - you say with indignation - the Democratic Party does not deserve Muslim support because of its less than exemplary behavior since 9/11. Well, it is true that the War on Iraq, the Patriot Act, and the absurd tax cuts for the rich would not have happened without the support of a large number of Democrats. Even Ted Kennedy, supposed champion of the Left and perennial Republican punching bag, was somehow coaxed into supporting some of the Republican’s most egregious legislation (i.e. Medicare and Bush’s Education “Reform” Bill). Ok, fine - but what are you going to do? Vote for Ralph Nader again? Voting for Ralphy is indeed a great idea - that is, if you want Bush to stay in power and wreak havoc on our great nation for another four years.

Josh Frank, in an article that also appeared here, goes polemical against the Democratic Party. If you gave his article to someone in the middle of the Sahara desert, it wouldn’t be too surprising if they came out of it thinking that the Democratic Party was the source of nearly all the evil in the world. I will not, in this article, waste time trying to explain why the Democratic Party is, in fact, not evil or go through the list of the many Democrats in both the House and Senate who have been nothing short of resolute in their effort to counter the right-wing machinations of the Bushies.

It is also no secret that if Ralph Nader didn’t run in 2000, Bush would not be president today. In several battleground states, Bush won by a tiny sliver of votes. Had the 2,781,109 Naderites voted instead for Gore, Gore would have won those states and won the Electoral College. Therefore, Nader is at least partly responsible for the dire predicament that we are in now. Unfortunately, Nader is now frothing about his “presidential exploratory committee” for the 2004 elections. God help us if Nader, in his characteristic self-righteousness and seeming incapacity for any degree of self-criticism, runs again.

We should note that Josh Frank writes for magazines like the socialist Left Turn, whose very raison d’etre is to criticize any person, any policy - anything at all - that is not wildly to the Left of the vast majority of Americans (their slogan is “from anti-capitalism to revolution”). As both Muslims and progressives, we have to ask ourselves some urgent questions. We can go the way of the radical Left and be perennial protestors who choose to oppose and resist the system at every turn. Or we can be protestors who channel our anger in productive ways by working within the system and becoming part of it. I hope we choose the latter. Who would you rather be in 30 years? An old pseudo-hippie protest-hopper or a government official or elected representative who actually has the power and the authority to make a difference in the lives of everyday Americans?

We should state the obvious: the self-righteousness and uncompromising “idealism” of the Far Left has hurt the progressive movement in America.

Ok, ok, moving on…what about Dennis Kucinich you ask with indignation? (There is, after all, the “Muslims for Kucinich” group). I have to admit that Kucinich seems like a great guy. He is sincere and cares deeply about the future of the country. He has also proven to be a friend of the American Muslim community. But, ummm…Newsflash - Kucinich has absolutely zero chance of winning the nomination! Even if we pretended that we lived in a parallel universe in which Kucinich was the front-runner in the Democratic primaries, he would probably have no chance against Bush in the general election.

I think American Muslims need to seriously look at Howard Dean’s candidacy. Dr. Dean provides voters with a potent mix of principle and pragmatism. No, Dean isn’t perfect. But he may very well be the first electable progressive we’ve had in many, many years.

He, out of the major candidates, appears the most authentic and genuine. He opposed the Iraq War from the beginning, before it was fashionable to do so. He has consistently railed against the Patriot Act and Ashcroft’s seeming obsession with violating the American constitution. He has argued for a repeal of the Bush tax cuts and has taken the centrist, Bush-lite Democratic Party establishment to task for selling out and not staying true to the Party’s progressive ideals. As Dean often proclaims, he is from “the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party.”

That’s all secondary, though, to Dean’s true appeal. The Howard Dean campaign is - to say the least - revolutionary in an otherwise staid world of campaign politics. Not too long ago, Dean was dismissed as a long shot. Over the summer, pundits said that his momentum could not last. Today, Dean is the front-runner for the nomination. How did he go from relative unknown to serious contender? Not with the support of Washington insiders, beltway types, or establishment Democrats. Instead, he has become the front-runner with the support of hundreds of thousands of intensely loyal supporters who have been inspired by his empowering message. As Samantha Shapiro notes in a recent New York Times Magazine article: “Long before Howard Dean was considered a plausible candidate for president, he seemed to emit some sort of secret call that made people, many of them previously apolitical, drop everything and devote themselves to his campaign.” When Dean’s on the road, he seems more like a rock star than a politician. Everywhere he goes, he brings crowds in the thousands to their feet.

And while the Bush re-election effort has already garnered endless millions through large campaign contributions from Republican fat-cats, the Dean campaign has raised more than $ 25 million dollars, with the average donation being a mere $77.

It sometimes seems as if Dean’s campaign isn’t even really a campaign as much as it is a movement. If it continues growing and attracting new supporters, the Dean phenomenon has the potential to become the largest, most powerful and best-organized grassroots movement in modern American political history.

I strongly believe that Howard Dean is the best choice for America and American Muslims. You don’t have to agree with me. Muslims will naturally differ on which Democrat to support. This is natural because we are not a monolithic group of people. All Muslims, though - regardless of whom we decide to support in the end - have a role to play. First of all, we have to start educating ourselves about the candidates, their views, and their hopes for America. But as I have tried to emphasize here - it does not and should not stop there. This is our country. It is time for us participate. It is time for us to organize. It is time for us to volunteer. It is time for us to get active. Because if we don’t get involved now, when will we? Our great country has been taken away from us by George W. Bush. Now the time has come to take it back.

In an upcoming article, Hamid will focus on the Democrats' policies on the Middle East.

Shadi Hamid is Chair of the Political Action Task Force for the Muslim Students Association of the United States and Canada. His articles have been published in a variety of print and online publications, wire services, anthologies, and journals both in the US and abroad. Hamid is also a regular columnist for PopMatters.com, writing monthly on music, politics, and pop culture. He can be reached at ShadiHamid@hotmail.com.