Beyond Debate: Becoming Respected Political Players

A few weeks back we saw the first debate for Democratic Presidential candidates. The GOP has already had two highly-publicized debates, and the differences between the Democratic and GOP debates was stark.
The American Muslim community is  overwhelmingly Democratic. This was not always the case. American Muslims voted Republican overwhelmingly 15 years ago. Forty-two percent voted for President Bush in 2000. Just four years later, Muslims overwhelmingly voted for Kerry, with  76 percent supporting him.
The main questions to be asked are why is this the case, and what can American Muslims do to be a force in both parties?
While some of this shift can be attributed to policy, much of it can be placed on rhetoric. Some Republicans have gone out of their way to marginalize American Muslims in order to secure votes from a very specific small group of ultra-conservative voters. For example, while President Obama has made very clear that saying “Islamic terror” is not only inaccurate and gives terrorists legitimacy, Republicans have doubled down and claimed that it is accurately identifying the problem, not realizing they are alienating an entire group based on their faith.
However, to be catered to by any political group, we must be a part of that constituency. American Muslims must make themselves a significant voting or financial bloc for candidates to consider them real players in the political arena. And we must be involved with both parties- Republicans and Democrats. Not only does this mean holding fundraisers, but also volunteering for campaigns and holding leadership positions in party institutions.
Even the general acceptance American Muslims get from the Democratic party is one that is due to their own philosophy of inclusion as opposed to any significant respect for the Muslim community’s political might. To have more of a say, we must do more than just rely on the goodwill of people, but instead finance, contribute our expertise to, and work for political institutions. 
The debates highlight that our lot with the two political parties is a mixed bag. While there is cause for concern, we should also be optimistic, for other minorities have had the same issues we have. 
While investing in building mosques, we must not ignore investing in our political parties, communities, and institutions. We must remain involved and active on the issues that impact us and our communities; to that end, we cannot be politically passive. -MPAC