Tracking the Muslim-American Vote

Muslim-Americans are disappointed by the way the Obama administration has addressed Islamophobia at home and anti-Americanism abroad, but despite these misgivings, Princeton political science professor Amaney Jamal says they are likely to vote for President Obama next month.

Jamal, a 2005 Carnegie scholar, spoke to a group of twenty students and faculty in the Social Sciences building on Monday night as part of the "Citizenship, Democracy and Elections" lecture series.

Her talk, "Muslim Americans & the 2012 Elections," focused on the American perceptions of the Muslim world and politicians' responses to these widespread Islamophobic views.

Jamal said that addressing issues with Muslims abroad would require the Obama administration to directly counter Islamophobic attitudes in the United States.

"Unfortunately, Obama has exhibited little public defense of Muslim-Americans," Jamal said. "When people allege that Obama is Muslim, the comment from the White House is ‘no, no, no, he's Christian.' But it doesn't go that little extra step and ask, ‘so what if he was Muslim?

"The Muslim-American community has bought into the idea that they are a liability to the Democratic Party," Jamal said. "No one is calling out Obama and the political elite in this country because they do not want to hurt his chances of winning [this November]."

Jamal posited that Muslim-Americans perceive Gov. Mitt Romney as the more anti-Islamic candidate. She cited earlier "irresponsible comments" made by Romney regarding sensitive Middle Eastern issues, including the ongoing Arab-Israeli conflict.

Duke sociologist Jen'nan Ghazal Read, an expert on Muslim-American affairs, organized the lecture series. She says the Muslim-American vote is critical this election season.

"The Muslim population has mobilized much more than they ever had before 9/11 and they increasingly have done so in swing states," Read says. "Looking at how and why Muslims participate in the election highlights the similarities between Muslims and other Americans."

First-year student Emmy Mariner said Jamal's talk gave her a new way of looking at American election rhetoric regarding Muslims and the Middle East.

"I think it's interesting that so much of this is based off of a more mythical interpretation of what the average American Muslim is than in reality," Mariner said.

For more information about the "Citizenship, Democracy and Elections" lecture series, visit the Duke Islamic Studies Center website.