The Muslim Constituency and the Conservative Movement:

A Natural Alliance

I.     Executive Summary
American Muslims represent a natural constituency and base of support for the Republican Party and the conservative movement.  Research shows that prior to 1990, Muslims voted overwhelmingly for the Republican Party and the American Muslims continue to display conservative tendencies on a range of economic and social issues.  A 1996 survey commissioned by the American Muslim Council and the Middle East Broadcasting Company showed that just over 50 percent of those polled supported recently enacted welfare reforms while only 26 percent opposed the legislation.  At the same time Muslims tend to be strongly pro-family, fiscally conservative, anti-abortion and do not oppose the death penalty.

During the last six years, however, a significant shift has taken place in the voting habits of American Muslims.  In 1996, most of the roughly one million who are registered have set aside their conservative inclinations to vote for Bill Clinton by a margin of two-to-one (in some polls the ratio was three-to-one). This dramatic shift should not be overstated, however Clinton’s relative success among Muslims despite their natural antipathy towards his policies and values is the result of a vigorous campaign on the part of the White House combined with a sense of alienation by the Republicans.  Muslim have, by and large, felt unwelcome in the Republican Party in recent years as a result of widespread, stereotypical and xenophobic attitudes towards Islam and Muslims at all levels of the Party.

The Islamic Institute seeks to change prevailing attitudes among both Americans Muslims and the Republican Party about one another and to mobilize Muslims as an important part of the conservative movement.  We believe that the Muslim constituency and the conservative movement are a natural alliance in waiting.

II      Objectives
The Islamic Institute aims to achieve the following:

Ø Mobilize Muslim voters activists in support of the conservative movement as natural base of support;

Ø Explain traditional conservative ideas to Muslims and traditional Islamic ideals to conservatives, while emphasizing their inherent similarities; and

Ø Promote a pro-business, pro-privatization ideals to Muslim leaders abroad

III    Activities
In order to mount a successful campaign, the Institute will undertake the following activities:

Ø Research and document demographic trends within the Muslim community;

Ø Compile a library of scholarly works about Islamic view regarding a range of contemporary social and economic issues;

Ø Establish a network of individuals and institutions which can implement various elements of process;

Ø Conduct overseas conferences and other forums designed to demonstrate the benefits of free enterprise and privatization;

Ø Organize domestic forums to promote the conservative agenda among American Muslim scholars;

Ø  Promote the appointment of Muslims conservative to positions where they can influence the debate in a desirable directions; and

Ø Establish Muslim conservative organizations, state by state and in many localities as is feasible.

 

A.     Demographics of American Muslims
An analysis of the voter rolls in 46 states commissioned by the American Muslim Council (AMC) reveals that there are approximately half a million registered voters with Muslim names. In addition, there are considerably more Muslims voters whose names do not reflect their identity.  AMC further estimates approximately a total of one million registered voters. Furthermore, the Institute would target the one to two million Muslims of voting age who are not yet registered.

The demographic information available about the Muslims community is incomplete. Cross-analysis against other database and polling based on information in the voter rolls and other databases provide an abundance of useful demographic information that will form a sound basis for a systematic recruitment and mobilization effort. In addition to research conducted in-house by the Islamic Institute and its contractors, the Institute would provide grants to tax-exempt organizations with access to information that is denied to political organizations such as ours.  The results of these studies would be made available to conservative organizations that could make effective use of them.

 

B.       Position Papers
Islamic law and jurisprudence are based principally on conservative values and are generally in accordance with conservative positions on most economic and social issues.  For example, an article in the April issue Worth magazine discusses the importance of free markets in contemporary Islamic thought.  In addition, the impact of the pro-family Muslim-Catholic alliance at the Cairo Population Conference demonstrates the potential for Muslim coalition building with regard to social issues.

Mobilizing Muslims on these issues will require an accurate and informed understanding of traditional Islamic teachings and doctrines. The Institute would commission position papers on a range of economic (free trade, monetary policy, fiscal policy, banking, regulation, etc) and social issues (abortion, the death penalty, welfare policy, crime, etc) from qualified and respected scholars and institutions with demonstrated knowledge in Islamic thought.  The results will be invaluable for conservative policymakers in establishing productive relations with Muslim leaders and for conservative candidates in campaigning.

 

C.      Networking
Implementing the various elements we outline here is a job for a wide variety of individuals and institutions.  Our tasks will be to network research institutes, advocacy groups, political organizations and local community centers in order to carry out our activities and to mobilize American Muslims.  The following is a list of organizations that have already expressed an interest in cooperating with the Institute:

Ø Pakistani American Congress

Ø Muslim Public Affairs Council

Ø Islamic Network

Ø American Muslim Council

Ø Minaret of Freedom Institute

Ø International Institute of Islamic Thought

Ø Islamic Foundation (UK)

Ø Several Local Islamic centers around the United States

D.      Overseas Conference
The Islamic Institute will organize a series of international economic conferences in which economist, scholars, government officials and other leaders will be invited to participate.  The Muslim world consists of a vastly diverse set of countries eager for development and economic prosperity, the vast majority has moved or is moving away from central planning and socialist economies.  Moreover the combination of Islam’s affinity for private ownership and market mechanisms, the economic success stories of Muslim countries such as Malaysia, make a strong case for market economics within an Islamic context.  This all the more pressing in light of the mixed economy approach of the World Bank and IMF and the tendency of political leaders to resort to authoritarian solutions, as is the case in Indonesia.

 

E.      Domestic Conferences
The Islamic Institute will also host a series of conferences and other forums in the United States designed to promote the conservative agenda among Muslims scholars and community leaders.  The open forums will be designed to give Muslims leaders the information they need about conservative policies from an Islamic perspective.

 

F.      Cultivating and Cultivating Muslim Leaders
There are currently a number of active Muslim conservatives and our efforts should bring many more to the fore.  The Institute will work to cultivate and expand a base of conservative Muslim activists and expose them to various leadership opportunities, including elected office and political appointments at all levels.  The empowerment of these conservative activists will serve both to advance the conservative cause and while simultaneously encouraging more Muslims to join the effort.

The tremendous ethnic diversity of the American Muslim community could also serve as a gateway to a number of communities who have traditionally been a part of the Democratic coalition, including African Americans, Asian Americans and Arab Americans.  For example, African American Muslims comprise nearly half of the total Muslim population in the United States and represent a significant demographic and political force within broader African American population.  Whereas Republican outreach to African Americans and other minorities has thus far met with little success, the American Muslim community could serve as a bridge to these communities, many of whom already harbor conservative tendencies.

 

G.      Organization of Muslim Conservative Clubs
Ultimately the work of the Islamic Institute is that of a catalyst, or a facilitator for the development of a grassroots Muslim political movement with a conservative complexion.  By developing and working through local groups on a state-by state basis and in as many localities as is feasible, we expect to build ties with other community organizations in advancing the conservative agenda.

 

IV    Conclusions
The existence of one million Muslim registered voters and the prospect of additional one to two million voters will continue to be ignored by conservative at their own peril.  Fortunately, the mutual alienation of Muslims and the Republican Party discussed earlier is not permanent and can still be remedied.  Many of the approximately five million American Muslims are not registered voters and those who are, are not attached to either or the other party as of yet.  Though Muslims do not yet vote as a block, the Islamic Institute is prepared to undertake a massive recruitment and mobilization campaign among Muslims on behalf of the conservative movement.