Project Proposal

Project Description

Muslims in the U.S. have the same concerns as other Americans: patriotism, the federal budget, and the economy. However, as far as elections are concerned, many Muslims feel they only have a small influence over American foreign policy (Pew Research Center, 2007). Challenged like all citizens to participate in the political system process, in my experience Muslim Americans behave as Americans; despite what the polls say or people tend to think about them as a religious entity. Some Muslims in America feel that they are misjudged, despite the content of their hearts and their true characters. Indeed, many Muslim Americans believe that the main problem they today is discrimination based on their ethnicity and religion.
For example, it is certainly amazing that a black man with a Muslim sounding name and Muslim parentage is the Democratic frontrunner for the US presidential election in 2008. U.S. Senator Barack Obama, an African American Christian, faces questions about his Muslim roots. In other words, he might not get a fair chance, in the general election, because of his parentage (his father was an African-born Muslim). At the same time, many Muslims support Barack Obama because they feel his election could send a message that Muslims have a place in America. In the end it seems race and sex issues can be overcome in this election, but religion, especially Islam, may not be easily overlooked (Telhami, 2004).
According to Tahir Abbas (2005), discrimination against Muslims in the US has increased since September 11, 2001. “, Hostility and attacks against Muslims, both verbal and physical, have increased. Recently there have been numerous press reports of violent assaults and attacks on individuals and property such as mosques. Generally there seems to be an increase in Islamophobia. Research has shown that general hostility towards Islam and Muslims” (p. 45). I am writing this paper to educate the non American-Muslimsand show how Muslim-Americans are feeling since the September 11, 2001. I also believe that Muslim-Americans are afraid to vote at polls because they feel that they will get discriminated against because of the events of September 11 2001. My research will investigate this perception.

The two main goals of my project:

This project has two key objectives. The first objective of my project is to research the challenges Muslim-Americans have to deal with when they try to participate in politics in the September 11 era, especially when they try to vote in the polls. Most Muslim-Americans are afraid to go to the polls and vote. They feel unwelcome and they are afraid of being discriminated against. The second objective is to educate the general public about the challenges Muslim-Americans face when they try to participate in politics. Nowadays, the public may make their comments or opinions about American-Muslims, without knowing true facts.

My Research Questions:

1. Has the climate of fear inspired by the “war on terror” and the invasion of Iraq led Muslim-Americans to become more engaged----or less engaged----in the political process (with a focus on participation in presidential elections)?

2. How do Muslim-Americans feel about the political process in particular the 2008 elections and their ability to have a voice in this process (especially in the 2008 election)?

My Hypotheses:

After initial research on the above questions, I am making the following hypotheses:

H1: I believe that Muslim- Americans will feel they have experienced discrimination since September 11th, 2001, when they attempt to vote in person.

H2: I believe most Muslim-Americans will support Barack Obama over John McCain and Hillary Clinton because they feel he better understands their own discrimination (mostly due to the fact that he has a Muslim-sounding name and his experience as an African-American in the U.S.).

H3: I also believe they will probably split in their attitudes about political participation. Half will believe the best response to discrimination is getting more involved in politics (i.e., voting), and the other half will withdraw from politics in response to their perceptions of discrimination.

My Audience:

The reason why I am writing this paper is to show to the public how Muslims are feeling and what they are going through in this election. My ultimate goal is to educate the public (and especially non-Muslims) about the challenges that Muslim Americans face with political participation. For example, in my personal experience, I have found that many Muslims prefer and might vote through the computer, and through the mail. They will do whatever it takes to avoid doing it through the polls, because they fear discrimination or intimidation by polls workers and other voters. Furthermore, this paper will educate the public and make them aware of what is actually happening around them, to their Muslim-American neighbors.

How this project is related to my BIS concentration:

My two concentrations International Government Politics and Administration of Justice are always together. Politics is based on law; no one can separate the law from politics. Without laws, it is impossible to run politics fairly. Also, law is what completes politics. The outcome of political action is usually a law. Furthermore, there are laws on how to run campaigns, how to run the polling stations, how to run for a congressional representative seat or the presidency, and more. If you do not apply the law in any of these cases, the outcome is useless, and democracy itself can be threatened.
My first concentration, International Government Politics, connects with this project by informing the public about the Muslim-American participation. For example, American Muslims face many problems in the US due to American foreign policies and the wars in the Middle East. The political involvement of Muslims may become problematic with this international situation. American-Muslims are more in tune with the way of negotiating with their fellow Muslims in the Middle East. Perhaps more involvement from American-Muslims could show non-Muslim American’s other peaceful ways to handle the current wars in the Middle East.
My second concentration, Administration of Justice, is connected to this project as well. With regard to elections, my ADJ courses suggest that all of our candidates should be seen equally and they should all get the proper justice. This will let the voter decide who would be the best candidate for the U.S. In short, Federal-voting law makes discrimination illegal against individuals based on religion, sex, and race. The question is whether these laws will prevent Muslims from facing discrimination at the polls in the 2008 Presidential election.

Background Statement:

The upcoming Presidential elections have many Americans diligently preparing and participating in campaigning to elect a President of the United States. Some Muslim- Americans are also trying to take part in supporting and campaigning for candidates.
Muslim Americans have varied views towards this year’s Presidential elections. According to the Pew Research Center (2007), some Muslim-Americans feel that if a candidate has a Muslim background, that candidate will not have an equal chance in the Presidential elections. Other Muslim-Americans feel that their participation may not be heard because of their religion. Moreover, foreign policy is only one of many issues that concern Muslim-Americans (PEW Research Center, 2007).
Still other Muslims in America feel they are criticized by other Americans, no matter what is in their hearts (Telhami, 2004). In short, many commentators feel that the main problem that Muslims-Americans are facing right now is discrimination, based on their ethnicity and religion (Telhami, 2004). Given this environment of discrimination, one should expect that Muslim-Americans will face problems when they attempt to they participate in the voting process, due to their religion. Therefore, their participation in the Presidential elections this year may be a hard mission. Because of the environment of discrimination, Muslim-Americans must fight their fear of being misjudged when they go to vote.
As an example of how this environment affects the political participation of Muslim Americans, Hazem (2008) writes that a majority of Americans would never vote for a Muslim presidential candidate under any circumstances:
Though it was scarcely covered by the media, a November 2006 Rasmussen poll found that 61% of [Likely Voters] said they would never vote for a Muslim Presidential candidate. While no Muslim candidate has yet to announce their candidacy, its hardly encouraging news for Barak Hussein Obama with a Muslim ancestry hanging over his head--both his father and stepfather come from a Muslim background. (Hazem, 2008).
This negativity and discrimination may discourage Muslim-Americans from putting any input into the Presidential elections. In a way Muslim-Americans feel that they are still paying for what happened on September 11, 2001.

Muslim-Americans: Varied Political Views

One insightful observer of the relations between Muslim Americans and American politics is Shibley Telhami. Telhami (2004), writing in agreement with the Pew Center, argues that Muslim-Americans’ views towards the upcoming elections are indeed varied. Some Muslim-Americans, according to Telhami, believe the U.S. Presidency is for sale. Others believe that “Americans tend to see foreigners as subversives which sexism and racism might be able to be overcome, but not so easily so with religion and religious ancestry.” Telhami writes that Muslim Americans are also “sensitive to foreign policy or domestic policy depending upon their status as indigenous or immigrant peoples, who tends to lead them towards a Democratic or Republic stance in the political arena.”(Telhami, 2004, pp. 8-12).
This variety of perspectives makes sense because, according to the Pew Center for the People and the Press (2007), Muslim Americans come from a variety of backgrounds.
Finally, many Muslim-Americans believe that other Americans see them as a threat since September 11 (Telhami, 2004). In short, Telhami writes that many Muslim Americans believe that Americans see them as subversives, and that they are always suspect, regardless of what their intentions or their contributions to society. As a result, “most Arabs and Muslims today see the U.S. war on terrorism as an attack on them, whereas an increasing number of Americans see Islam as a threat” (Telhami, 2004). These kinds of sentiments can create mutual feelings of ill-will.

Perceptions of Discrimination and Political Participation

According to William J. Crotty (2004), “in numerous speeches, the president consistently portrayed the U.S. cause as one designed to enhance the value of freedom, religious tolerance, and a belief in progress, while castigating the terrorist as ‘evil doers’ who practice ‘a fringe form of Islamic extremism’” (p. 47). Yet, many Muslim-Americans believe that other Americans have looked down on them and their religion since Ever since September 11th, whenever there is a terrorist attack many Americans assume that it is a Muslim; before they even research and find out who the real attacker is. For example, during the Virginia Tech shooting, local media first identified the shooter as an “Afghani Muslim” before apologizing on the air after the identity of the shooter became known.
Given this environment after September 11th, some Muslim-Americans feel that no matter what they do or say, they will face prejudice. Kira Hazem, who is a renowned commentator, has made his own analysis about how qualified political candidates can often face prejudice. Hazem (2008) sums up his conclusions in this manner:
While the country has no official religious litmus test - Article VI of the Constitution states that "no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office"- at the end of the day, voters can, and do, reject candidates based on preconceived notions and prejudice; a classic example of our Democratic system tainted by our habitually illiberal tendencies. (n/a)

Hazem is bold enough to make the claim, that basically, although it is difficult to prove that these prejudices exist, discrimination against Muslims is a part of the American political process.
Others also argue that Muslim-Americans have faced increased discrimination since September 11th. According to Bill Ong Hing (2006), “at one point [since] 9/11, hate crimes against Muslims soared, rising more than 1,500 percent. And discrimination in the work place climbed after September 11. So overwhelming was the number of complaints it received that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) created a new category to track acts of discrimination against Middle Eastern, Muslim, and South Eastern workers after 9/11” (p. 152). We all know that every religion and every country has good and evil people. We should not see all Muslim-Americans in same eyes and treat them all unequally like criminals.
I have seen my share of this discrimination. For example, I was working in the mall when the September 11th attack happened. A couple of days later, I was on my lunch break, trying to buy a sandwich. I was dressed in modern clothing, when a Caucasian woman who looked at me and saw the symbol of God on my jewelry that said “Allah” assaulted me. She spit in my face, and cursed me out. Even security had to get involved. This is a typical example of why Muslim-Americans feel discriminated against.
At the same time, how does this environment of discrimination affect the political participation of Muslim Americans? Political participation from all Americans is essential to have a fair and orderly nation. Without participation, injustice and corruption may occur. Politicians need to be given high standards by Americans so that they act fairly. Recently, the participation of Muslim-Americans since the beginning of the 2008 campaign has increased phenomenally. Hazem writes that this increase in participation has occurred because of Barack Obama’s Muslim-American background (although Barack Obama is a Christian, his Muslim background comes from his father, and stepfather).
Muslims also participated actively in the 2004 election. According to a CBSNews.com article, Muslim-Americans Launch Nationwide Voter Registration Campaign, in 2004 a “since September 11, a mosque surveys estimated 750,000 Muslim-Americans are currently registered” (CBSNews.com). Since there was such a huge number of Muslim-American voters in 2004, there should be an even bigger turnout this 2008 Presidential election (although registered voters do not equal voters.)
Still, for a Muslim-American to fully participate in political activities of their country, they must be registered to vote and feel support from non-Muslim-Americans. Muslim-American need to feel supported by non Muslim-Americans because we all live in the United States as well. Without the support of non- Muslim-Americans, the participation in political campaigns, running for office, or offering money for political campaigns, becomes much more difficult. This has been an issue for Muslim-Americans who feel they do not have the support of their fellow Americans; instead, they feel isolated and discriminated against.
More specifically, there are many ways that Muslim-Americans could get discriminated against at the polls. For example, poll workers and observers might identify Muslim-Americans by the way they dress, their “Muslim-sounding” name, and by noticing jewelry with religious symbols, and some Muslim-Americans have reported that when their name is spotted at the polls, on the voter list, they are screened and are background checked (personal conversation, 2008). Overall, non-Muslim Americans need to inform themselves of what is happening to their Muslim neighbors and to condemn the unequal treatment.
In pluralist societies, where people of many faiths have agreed to live together in harmony, the Islamic thing to dois to pursue universal values and the universal public interest. To promote the public interest, all citizens must engage in the political process. As Khan Muqtedar (2004), who has written on the relationship between Islam and politics, writes that Muslims and non-Muslims should work together to build a healthier democracy. This process will take a long time. It is important to remember that there will be many more elections to come and Muslim-Americans must not act as if this is the only shot they have at making a difference. In the end, Muqtedar writes, Muslim-Americans must stop having what he calls an “instrumental relationship” (p. ??) with the American system. It is time the community went far beyond one or two defining issues (such as policy toward the Middle East) and started engaging with the challenges that America faces at large.

Methodology:

First, I will review previous research to gain knowledge about how Muslim Americans view the upcoming elections of 2008, with a focus on research articles from academic journals (using database searches like J-STOR).
Second, I will conduct an online survey of the views of Muslim-Americans. By using “survey monkey,” an online survey research tool, Muslims-Americans can express their opinions about-facing discrimination. At the same time, my paper may help educate those non-Muslim-Americans who may discriminate against them. I will first get HSRB approval for my survey. After I get approval, I will post all of survey questions into the online survey tool. Then, I will contact most of the Muslim-American organizations nationwide and direct them to the online survey. I will also go to nearby Mosques and ask them to distribute the survey for me to their congregations. I will use Internet networking tools to reach a greater survey pool, such as MySpace and Facebook.

Conclusion

I believe my survey will show, first, how Muslim-American views on the American political situation and agenda and the upcoming 2008 presidential elections are far-reaching and as varied as the individuals themselves. For example, some Muslims believe that the American presidential elections are tantamount to a secret society or club, where only the wealthy can enter and participate (Ramey, 2007). Others have different concerns when it comes to American politics. According Mazrui (1996), although “indigenous American Muslims are highly sensitive to issues of domestic policy in the United States, immigrant American Muslims are more sensitive to the foreign policy of the United States” (n/a).
In addition, I believe my survey will document how discrimination is preventing Muslim-Americans from participating in the Presidential elections or, what is worse, voting this November. This would pose a problem, because if Muslim Americans stay home in November, then this lack of participation could impact the outcome of the election. The Muslim American community is growing. As Mazui (1996) writes, the two sets of Muslims in the United States—indigenous and immigrants—are “in the process of being forged into the largest Muslim nation in the Americas” (p. 493-506). Second, Muslim Americans may vote more for one party more than the other this year. As Ali Mazuri (1996) writes, “if Muslims are discriminated against or harassed at home within the United States, the Democrats are more likely to come to their rescue than the Republicans” (pp 493-506).
In conclusion, Americans still harbor racist attitudes and tendencies. Muslims are feeling the heat especially since the horrible September 11 incident. My project therefore has two key objectives. The first objective of is to study more concerning the challenges Muslim-Americans have to deal with when they try to participate in politics in the post-911 era, especially when they try to vote in the polls. Most Muslim- Americans are afraid to go to the polls and vote because they feel unwelcome and are afraid of being discriminated against. The second objective is to educate the general public about the challenges the Muslim-American face when they try to participate in politics.