Faith and Politics-Tarif Hourani YELLOW SPRINGS, OH (WYSO) - I ask Tarif Hourani how Muslim American's are treated in the Miami Valley. It's clear that he's a thoughtful man, as he carefully chooses his words in response.

"In the Dayton community, people are divided. After 9/11, the administration had a historic moment to unite Americans and unite the whole world for a common cause. Unfortunately, the policies of fear were used instead. As a result, we lost a great opportunity to build a common stand against violence and against terrorism." says Hourani.

After that day, he says the Miami Valley has been like many communities across the country.

"You find many people who contacted the American Muslims who wanted to learn about Islam, who wanted to learn about their religion, they want to be educated, many even came and lent their support and asked if we need anything," Hourani adds,"Others unfortunately took the other extreme."

According to exit polls surveyed by the Council of American Islamic-Relations, in the year 2000, over 70% of Muslim Americans voted for President Bush.


"Mr. Bush made promises in the year 2000, chief among them was his stand against racial profiling. That's what made many American Muslims vote for him at that time," explains Hourani.

It couldn't have been more different after September 11th. In the 2004 election, over 90% of Muslim Americans cast their vote for Senator John Kerry. Even still, seven years later, fear is a tactic used across the political landscape. Hourani points to a recent example about attacks regarding Senator Barack Obama's middle name, Hussein. He says that he finds this kind of political strategy personally offensive and used only to stigmatize people.

"It's kind of a shame that people have to be scared and exploit the policies of fear along those lines and say that Obama might be a secret Muslim'. Well, for the record, let me say that, to the best of my knowledge, Barack Obama is not a Muslim. But even if he were, even if he were a Catholic, a protestant or a Jew, I say, what is the big deal here?" asks Hourani.

During this election season, Hourani says neither party has done much to address the concerns of the Muslim American community.

"Both candidates are afraid to be labeled Muslims. Both candidates had no problems visiting church or synagogues but still afraid to come near a mosque at this point and that's a shame," says Hourani.

With many American Muslims coming from different backgrounds and born in different countries, the community is very diverse. Hourani says that it's difficult to paint them all with one brush and know for sure what way they are politically leaning, but that certain issues are important.

"The American Muslims in general are family oriented, so I would say that issues related to the family, like education, poverty healthcare, those would be very important issues for American Muslims so change is really welcome there. We just hope it's change for the better," Hourani says.

Policy making decisions in American politics often come down to faith. But for Muslim Americans, their faith isn't being reflected in the candidates. Both Barack Obama and John McCain are of the Christian faith. But Hourani says it less important for him to see a Muslim get elected, and more about the substance of what the candidate represents.

"To me, what matters more is the issues more than just faith or religion. So I don't need a Muslim speaking for me, but if someone is speaking for civil liberties, I feel represented regardless of that person's faith. I don't look for the religion of a person. I look at the issues that the person stands for and do those issues agree with my faith or not," says Hourani.

There's over 150,000 Muslims estimated to be living in Ohio. It's hard to say how much power the Muslim vote has in Ohio, but in a swing state where every vote matters, it could make a difference.

Visit the News Blog to find a recent study by the Council of American Islamic Relations on Muslim American's politcal views in Ohio.

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