The level of accessibility provided by the candidate to the American-Muslim community. The candidate s track record, specifically on civil rights issues. Input from community groups via surveys, straw polls, and town hall meetings. He also promised to address Muslim concerns on domestic and foreign policy issues. As Muslims vote in a unified bloc, they may decide who is elected president in November.
Candidates are sure to take notice and begin to listen to Muslim concerns.
Despite numerous requests, neither Vice President Al Gore nor his election staff would meet with American Muslim leaders. This perplexed MPAC national director Salam Al-Marayati, who noted that President Bill Clinton had set a precedent for accessibility for Muslims. Finally, just as the cameras began to roll, the bloc vote was getting the attention of American politicians. For the first time in U.S. history, American Muslims, and most Arab Americans, will be voting as a bloc in a race so tight they can make a difference in key states. There are an estimated six to eight million Muslims and an additional two million Christian Arab Americans in the United States today.