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The Politics of Muslims in America

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 April 2009

Farida Jalalzai
Farida Jalalzai*
Affiliation:
University of Missouri, St. Louis
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Farida Jalalzai, Department of Political Science, University of Missouri, St. Louis, MO. E-mail: jalalzaif@umsl.edu
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Abstract

This article analyzes political participation and the attitudes of Muslim-Americans. Assessing national patterns, the first part highlights several regression models, discerning the impact of race/ethnicity, gender, foreign born status, age, and education on political activity and attitudes. I also compare changes in voting patterns among respondents between the 2000 and 2004 elections. The second half is based on in-depth interviews of Muslims from St. Louis, Missouri, probing more directly particular shifts in views and participation since September 11. Among the national sample, South Asians and Middle Easterners largely supported Republican George W. Bush in 2000, while African-Americans voted for Democrat Al Gore. However, by 2004, race and ethnicity were no longer statistically significant factors dividing the Muslim vote; instead, support largely went to Democrat John Kerry. Changes in voting patterns between 2000 and 2004 were also evident in the St. Louis sample of South Asians and Middle Easterners. They generally cited unfavorable views of Muslim treatment both at home and abroad since the War on Terror began as major reasons for these changes. Partisan and voting shifts were not evident among African-Americans, who have been consistent Democrats. However, many African-Americans in addition to Middle Easterners and South Asians reported heightened interest in politics and similar changes since September 11. Only Bosnians, who are relatively new to the United States, report few changes. This is largely because they have yet to develop firm political identities. Among both samples, Muslim-Americans generally exhibit high rates of participation in various political activities, many reporting increasing interest and involvement since September 11. Therefore, regardless of the hardships they may currently feel, Muslim-Americans are not hiding in the shadows but are fully participating in the political sphere.

Type
Articles
Information
Politics and Religion , Volume 2 , Special Issue 2: Muslims in America , August 2009 , pp. 163 - 199
Copyright
Copyright © Religion and Politics Section of the American Political Science Association 2009

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Footnotes

I am grateful to the University of Missouri-St. Louis Research Award and the Center for International Studies for providing funding for this project. I would also like to sincerely thank the anonymous reviewers whose suggestions were extremely helpful in manuscript preparation. I also thank Ted G. Jelen for his comments at both the Western Political Science Association Conference (March 2007) and Midwestern Political Science Association Conference (April 2007) and Sabrina P. Ramet for her suggestions on an earlier draft of this article.

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