Unassociated Press

Young Muslim American voters are an untapped reserve available to the presidential candidate who can appeal to them on important issues like healthcare, foreign policy and the economy, but many in this emerging voter demographic feel ignored and avoided by the presidential campaign.

Some, like University of Texas student Zignat Abdisubhan, claim the fault lies within the Muslim community. “We don’t have a large lobbying group,” she said, “If we say something the ball doesn’t get rolling.”

Aasiyah Baig, a senior in high school and first-time voter, agreed, “I don’t think we have a big presence when it comes down to voting and things like that. Not many Muslims go out and vote. It’s not the government’s fault.”

Others claim that the silent treatment stems from negative public opinion about their faith.

“It’s almost a hindrance if, like, the Muslim community supports a candidate,” said Sabina Mohammed, who gets her political information online at CNN.com.

Many young Muslims at Nueces Mosque last Friday plan to vote for Sen. Obama, but worry a vocal endorsement for the Democratic presidential candidate could become loaded gun for Republican campaigners who might twist their support into somehow allying him with terrorists.

“Becoming Muslim is such a bad thing now, everyone tries to avoid anything that has to do with Islam,” said Sonia Qureshia, who is also a student at the University of Texas.

For this reason, many chose to keep their political affiliations quiet. One young woman, whose family is originally from Kenya, asked that her name not be printed after stating that she admired Sen. Obama for “the way he portrayed change.”

The apprehension at Nueces Mosque was echoed by young Muslim Americans in South Houston at the Abu-Bakr Siddque Mosque who gathered Saturday for the evening prayer. “At first I was offended when he [Sen. Obama] so strongly denounced that he was Muslim,” said Baig, “Now I kind of see how you have to do that when it seems like the majority of the population hates Muslims.”

A battle over young Muslim votes, even if unpublicized, would have to answer their entreaty for a change in foreign policy.

“How they handle the war in Iraq and the war in Afghanistan is of course a big issue,” said Moska Noor, a UT student who plans to vote for Sen. Barack Obama in November.

Noor’s family originated from Afghanistan and was active in Afghani politics, but that action didn’t translate into political involvement in America.

“With my family it’s more of a fear of getting involved,” she said, “They’ll talk about politics but they won’t vote.”

There were many at Nueces Mosque and Abu-Bakr Siddique who faced similar situations of politically inactive family members. “My mom will vote if I make her go vote,” said Abdisubhan, “but my dad always votes.”

Though most of the young people interviewed claimed they are concerned with who will have a better foreign policy, they don’t feel the decisions they make are linked to their religious beliefs or that they should be unanimous in their choice for president like their conservative Christian counterparts, who seem to vote in a more unified fashion.

“In general I think we are united, but I don’t think we really need to be,” explained Qureshia, who believes that politics and religion should be separate entities.

“I think people should vote on what they think is right,” said Abdisubhan, “There are certain things that don’t concern the religion at all and then you need to decide based on what you believe and what you learned growing up. I vote by issue, it just happens that I lean toward Democrats.”

Though many young Muslim voters plan to vote for Sen. Obama, they claimed that his time in Indonesia as a child with Muslim step-father, Lolo Soetoro, does not play a role in their decision. A few even claimed that it affected him negatively.

“He’ll say he’s pro-Jew but he’ll never say he’s pro-Muslim,” said Noor, who believes Obama especially avoids Muslim voters because of the allegations that he is secretly Muslim.

In the end, most Muslims voters at the mosque were more concerned about Sen. John McCain, citing his advanced age, stance on the war, and vice presidential pick as reasons for their lack of support.

Baig, a former Clinton supporter, said, “Honestly, Sarah Palin was a bad choice, but I think Biden was a really good decision because he counteracts Obama being so young.”

“Sarah Palin isn’t qualified to lead the country at all,” said Noor, “who knows when McCain is gonna die! He’ll probably get elected and the next day have a heart attack.”