By Abdus Sattar Ghazali
CA
After weeks of confusion, a split in its ranks and an
intensive pressure from the Muslim community, the American Muslim
Taskforce on Civil Rights and Elections - Political Action Committee
(AMT-PAC) October 21 called on Muslims nationwide to vote for Sen. John
Kerry. However it called its move as a ‘protest vote’ to safeguard civil
rights of the Muslim community.
An AMT-PAC statement issued in Washington stressed that
“because pluralism is based on partial agreements, support for Sen. Kerry
is premised on our overall effort to help restore liberty and justice for
all.”
The AMT pointed out that despite disagreements with Sen.
Kerry on some domestic and international issues, including the war in
Iraq, it is willing to work with him to help restore due process and equal
justice in accordance with the US Constitution.
The AMT acknowledged the considerable outreach to the
Muslim community by Sen. Kerry’s campaign, particularly by his campaign
co-chair Sen. Edward Kennedy and appreciated the ongoing dialogue with
Muslim leaders about problems posed by the USA PATRIOT Act.
The AMT’s belated endorsement is a welcome development
because it responded to the aspirations of the Muslim community. However,
the question remains: how the qualified endorsement of AMT is going to
affect the Muslim voters, majority of whom have already made up their mind
to support Kerry? Michael Meehan, a Kerry campaign spokesman, has made
this point very clear when he said endorsements were helpful, but “at this
late point in the election cycle, we are trying to turn supporters into
voters and recent polling shows we have support among American Muslims
10-to-1.”The AMT endorsement came after a major split in its ranks when
the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) a major component of the AMT quit
the coalition quietly after it refused to support endorsement to any
presidential candidate. MPAC was one of the three organizations that
envisaged, at the ISNA convention of 2003, the establishment of AMT as a
successor to the American Muslim Political Coordination Council (AMPCC)
that announced its support to Bush in 2000 elections. The other two groups
were American Muslim Alliance (AMA) and Council on American-Islamic
Relations (CAIR).
Apparently, a unanimous AMT decision was not possible in
the presence of MPAC, hence it was forced to leave the coalition. Only one
day before the AMT endorsement, the MPAC issued a long statement about its
decision of not endorsing any presidential candidate saying: “An
endorsement is far too important to give away without delivering solid
promises to the community that their interests will be of paramount
importance to the next President. Leaders of other religious and ethnic
communities throughout our country do not endorse unless they receive such
promises. We should not be any different.”
Alluding to the many opinion polls and persistent media
reports, the MAPC statement acknowledged that it trusts the political
judgment and maturity of American Muslim voters and added: “In this
election, Muslim voters must vote their conscience based on what is best
for themselves, their communities and their country. Our decision not to
endorse a candidate in the 2004 Presidential election must not be viewed
as a directive for American Muslims to reconsider their decision. Rather
it is a reminder that although candidates are willing to take our votes,
they are not yet willing to announce such to the country.”
Despite MPAC’s departure, the AMT still maintains 10
members as a marginal group, Muslim Ummah of North America (MUNA), was
quietly inducted to fill the MAPC slot. AMT includes: American Muslim
Alliance (AMA), Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), Islamic
Circle of North America (ICNA), Islamic Society of North America (ISNA),
Muslim Alliance in North America (MANA), Muslim American Society (MAS),
Muslim Ummah of North America (MUNA), Muslim Student Association-National
(MSA-N), Project Islamic Hope (PIH), and United Muslims of America (UMA).
The AMT-PAC is an affiliated political action committee
of the American Muslim Taskforce on Civil Rights and Elections
(AMT).
(Abdus Sattar Ghazali is the Executive Editor of the
online magazine American Muslim Perspective:
www.amperspective.com)