Muslims Urge Kerry to Reach Out to Community

July 27, 2004

Source: News House News Service

http://www.newhousenews.com/archive/mccutcheon072704.html

On July 27, 2004 News House News Service reported, "Muslim voters appear less inclined to support President Bush in November than they did in 2000, but that doesn't mean they automatically back Democrat John Kerry. Several of the roughly 40 Muslim delegates attending this week's Democratic National Convention said they are waiting for the Kerry campaign to show its concern for Muslim voters and acknowledge they can make a difference at the polls, especially in such key states as Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania. 'My sense is that 75 percent of the Muslim leadership is behind Kerry; however, the public is not,' said Asad Zaman, a school principal and convention delegate from Inver Grove, Minn., whose family is from Bangladesh. 'They have to do their homework. He needs to visit mosques the way he visits synagogues.' Spokesmen for the Kerry campaign and the Democratic National Committee say they are ramping up their efforts to reach Muslims during and after the convention."