FEATURE: Split Decision
After the smoke cleared on September 11, the Middle East found itself the central focus of U.S. foreign policy. Overnight, Muslims became America’s public enemy number one. In the wake of the attacks, the Bush administration launched a War on Terror first in Afghanistan and then in Iraq, destabilizing an already volatile region. Now violence threatens to spread to Pakistan, Syria, and Iran, while elsewhere in the region, the existing conflicts in Israel, Palestine, and Lebanon are intensifying. In the midst of this upheaval, America has established a global network of secret prisons in Europe, the Mid-East, and at Guantanamo Bay where Muslim men from around the world have been tortured and denied due process in violation of the Geneva Convention and U.S. law.
Never before have American politics had such a direct impact on the Muslim world. And never before has being Muslim in America required so much responsibility. On November 4, when Americans head to the polls, they’ll be choosing between Senator Barack Obama and Senator John McCain - two men who have disparate visions for dealing with the aftermath of Bush’s devastating Middle Eastern policy.
The Muslim American Community
In the 2000 election, President Bush famously connected with Muslim voters by (as improbable as this may sound) crusading against racial profiling and secret terrorism trials. Unbelievably, neither of this year’s candidates has made similar efforts. In fact, both the Obama and McCain campaigns have made serious missteps indicating a potential indifference toward the concern of Muslim voters.
