Source: BBC News

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/this_world/4347061.stm

On March 14, 2005 BBC News reported, "there is a stirring in Muslim communities. A new breed of activists driven by anger and injustice against Muslims, both at home and abroad, is on the move. The US election in 2004 captured the attention of Muslim Americans like never before and brought them back into politics The war on terror at home, the invasion of Iraq and the Abu Ghraib scandal are just some of the issues that drive them. In the aftermath of the terror attacks, Muslims retreated from local and state politics to an astonishing degree: more than 90% of Muslim politicians were no longer in office by 2002. However, the US election in 2004 captured the attention of this community like never before and brought them back into politics. Mosques and Islamic organisations were urging Muslims to exercise their right to vote. Traditionally, Muslims have voted Republican because of their emphasis on moral values, but in 2004 many considered switching to the Democrats, hoping they would be less of a threat to Muslims both in America and abroad."