- NORTH MIAMI BEACH, Fla. --
Members of the small mosque located behind Porter's Paint store in a strip
mall along 167th Street come from a string of countries and speak several
languages, but most agree on one thing: voting against U.S. President George
W. Bush on Nov. 2.
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- "With the Democrats, we would not have this chaos
we have all over the world. When [former president Bill] Clinton was there,
we felt as if we were all equal," said Mustapha Lymouri, a Moroccan-born
businessman who blames Mr. Bush for creating divisions in American society.
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- "I'm going to vote for John Kerry. We need some
change," said Jamal Hagos, a 42-year-old airline worker who is a native
of Eritrea and who opposed the war in Iraq. "I feel for the young
American soldiers who are dying every day for nothing."
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- Sofian Abdelaziz, director of the American Muslim Association
of North America and a leader of the mosque, said everyone he knows voted
for Mr. Bush last time. But most have turned against the Republican President,
upset by the invasion of Iraq, by what is seen as the administration's
bias in favour of Israel, and by moves they interpret as a concerted attack
on their civil rights. It is a pattern that is emerging across the country
among Arab-American and Muslim voters.
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- "The vast majority of people in Orlando in our community
voted for Bush last time. Our community tends to be socially conservative
and very successful in business, in the tourism business and in real-estate
development. They fit the Republican profile," said Taleb Salhab,
president of Orlando's Arab American Community Center.
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- "Arab Americans care about some of the same issues
that all Americans care about: jobs and health care and education,"
said Mr. Salhab, a Palestinian born in Kuwait who moved to the United States
16 years ago.
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- The U.S. Census Bureau counted 1.2 million Arab Americans
in 2000, but the Washington-based Arab American Institute lobby group questions
that methodology, insisting that the community is almost three times as
large, including 250,000 in Florida. The race in the crucial state is so
close ó Mr. Bush beat Mr. Gore by just over 500 votes in 2000 ó
that any significant shift in the community's voting trend could make the
difference in November.
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- "Bush won the Arab-American vote 45 per cent to
38 per cent in 2000, and Ralph Nader [who is of Lebanese origin] got 13.5
per cent," AAI president James Zogby said. But a recent poll of Arab
Americans in four key states, including Florida, showed Mr. Kerry leading
Mr. Bush 49 per cent to 32 per cent in a two-way race. That poll, taken
before the first presidential debate, showed Mr. Bush regaining some ground
against Mr. Kerry, particularly among Christians, who still make up a majority
of the Arab community. But there was no real love shown for the President.
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- "They've been very disaffected with Bush, but Kerry
has not closed the deal on all the issues," Mr. Zogby, a Democrat,
said.
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- For many of the disaffected, civil rights remains a particular
sore point.
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- Ashley Ansara, an Egyptian-born veterinarian and real-estate
developer who lives in central Florida, voted for Mr. Bush in 2000 but
is now thinking seriously of changing sides. "I'm a Republican, but
the Bush strategy is not working today. There are several people I know
that have been harassed by a wide variety of government organizations and
I feel they were not criminals and terrorists," Mr. Ansara said.
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- "I love America, and I'm very blessed to be an American
citizen. I brought over 12 members of my family. This is my home,"
he said. Yet he said he feels as if he's no longer respected and protected
by the government.
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- Mike MaBjish, a 51-year-old Miami restaurant owner, is
also considering switching sides this year.
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- "Quite a few people I know, friends and relatives,
are for Kerry because they want to see change," said Mr. MaBjish,
a Christian Arab from Israel. "..... Why should we keep losing friends
in Europe and the Middle East because of what we're doing overseas?
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- The community is not without Bush loyalists, however.
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- Geraldine Ferris, a U.S.-born dentist of Syrian descent,
is an active Republican who sees nothing wrong with the way police and
security authorities are handling their terrorist inquiries.
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- "We don't want anybody singled out, but let's say
a blond-haired blue-eyed guy was molesting little girls in a park. Wouldn't
you look at all blond-haired blue-eyed guys there with some suspicion?"
Dr. Ferris asked. "It was one of our people that was responsible for
9/11, and were going to have to live with that."
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- Although she said she believes Mr. Bush will still get
substantial support from the Arab-American community, she concedes that
Americans of Palestinian origin are leaning toward Mr. Kerry. But she says
it is a big mistake, noting that there was little progress on Middle East
peace under the previous Democratic administration.
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- "They're forgetting the eight years of Clinton,"
she said.
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- Mr. Salhab acknowledged that Mr. Kerry, like Mr. Bush,
has taken a pro-Israel stance, but he said most Muslims are hopeful that
the Democrats will be more sympathetic to their viewpoint.
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- "We think it will be better, and that they will
be more sensitive to our issues," Mr. Salhab said, noting that Mr.
Kerry has promised to take a more activist position in the peace process.
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