Muslims across the nation attending the tenth annual convention of one of their premier activist organizations, the American Muslim Council (AMC), clearly felt snubbed when Vice President Dick Cheney failed to appear for a scheduled briefing at the White House. As the attendees sat listening politely to some minor officials drone on and on, many were disappointed and thought that their endorsement of George Bush was an unfortunate mistake.
The meeting at the White House was expected to be the first ever with the second highest elected official in the land. But when the Muslims arrived in the auditorium Cheney was nowhere to be found. Instead, a lame excuse was offered that something unexpected had come up that needed his attention.
The cancellation undoubtedly was in response to an article that appeared the very same morning in the Jerusalem Post under the title “Cheney to host pro-terrorist Muslim group.” The writer accused the Muslim organization of having “voiced support for Hamas and Hizbullah” and sought to link Muslims with “terrorism.”
As vulgar as these charges may be to an average Muslim the Bush administration was clearly concerned. It sought to distance itself from the Muslim Americans even though their votes for the Bush-Cheney team were accepted earlier as untainted.
Many Muslims were upset that an article, appearing in a foreign paper, with a reputation for Muslim bashing would be given credence by the White House. It is even more disturbing, as some indicated, to realize that a foreign country could have such a strong hold on the administration that elected officials would be prevented from meeting their own constituents.
In a similar situation when the mayor of Jersey City, NJ, Bret Schundler was criticized for meeting with representatives of the American Muslim Alliance (AMA) he stood his ground and refused to buckle under in face of charges by a Jewish group. That body had attempted to link AMA with “terrorism” and anti-Israel views.
Unlike the Bush White House Schundler did not capitulate to anti-Muslim McCarthyism. Instead, he issued a statement saying that he would not cave-in to anti-Muslim bigotry by refusing to meet with AMA representatives.
Bush White House could have maintained a similar stance. To do so would have required a strong backbone, some guts, and intellectual integrity.
The increasing involvement of the American Muslims in the political process is a cause of worry for pro-Israeli forces. For the past fifty years they maintained a stranglehold on views dealing with the Middle East. The Muslims are seen as a challenge to their monopoly.
The American Muslims have begun to speak out more than ever on the Palestinian issue, previously an exclusive preserve of the pro-Israeli forces. Letters to the editor, indeed, guest written editorials, have become frequent features in mainstream newspapers that were non-existent only a few years ago.
The pro-occupation Israeli lobby would like nothing better than to sow distrust of the Muslims in the American eyes and to have them isolated as suspicious “terrorists.” They have pursued this objective relentlessly, with increasing desperation in recent years.
Earlier this month an article in the Wall Street Journal editorial pages by two well known peddlers of hatred against Islam, Steven Emerson and Daniel Pipes, sought to link Muslims in several American cities with Osama bin Laden “terror” network. One such city identified was Herndon, VA, as the location of an organized terrorist cell.
After the editorial appeared the Herndon Police Chief contacted the FBI to verify the citing. After his investigation the Police Chief was quoted in the local paper as stating that “there appears to be no truth to (the information in the article) at all.”
When Bill Clinton was in the White House he ignored attacks on American Muslims and invited them to join the First Lady for Eid celebrations. President George Bush seems to be unable to do that and his knuckling under the extremist anti-Muslim pressure sets a bad precedence for his administration.
Many Muslims are now beginning to rethink their endorsement of candidate Bush and their enthusiastic support for him. In retrospect, both seem like colossal mistakes. That the overwhelming Democratic Muslims delivered their votes to put a Republican in the White House is a bitter pill to swallow.
Increasingly, voices are heard to let George “Dubya” Bush follow in the footsteps of his father as the one term President.