Voting is a religious duty
By Neal AbuNab

There is a primary election on Tuesday, August 8, 2006. It is the duty of every Muslim to go out and vote.

Is this a religious Fatwa or edict? Yes, it is and I urge the Imams and leaders of the Muslim community to echo the same sentiment. Congregating in thousands has to be translated into a movement that secures the basic rights of a community.

The Qur’an says: “When the angels of death swoop in to collect the souls, that renounced their own rights; the angels will ask: what did you do while you were on earth? The dead souls will say: we were treated as the hapless on this earth. The angels will answer: did God not create an expansive earth that you could freely roam in? These souls will find their permanent shelter in Jehannam (hell), and it is an awful destiny.” Surah 04-97 (Chapter 4, Verse 97).

A hapless person is exactly what we were in the Arab world. We were ill-fated, unfortunate and saddled with helplessness. All because of our weak, tribal and mostly autocratic systems of government. We are a strong people as individuals but as a collective we have become the hapless on this earth. We came to this nation to improve our lives and indeed God has created “an expansive earth” that we could freely roam in and realize our dreams.

We came to America for prosperity, wealth, and a chance to pursue a dignified livelihood. We did that for the past 20 years and it proved to be inadequate. All of our wealth, money and hard-earned dreams can disappear overnight if we don’t have the political muscle to back it up. Our money has no value just like Saudi Arabia’s money because it is not spent in dignifying the lives of Muslims or creating a social value for our existence. We can work all our lives and be remembered as the people who panted after the dollar and died lonely, miserable and without a shred of dignity. Why? Because we sold our souls to the devil and made money our God.

We see it every where; a brother willing to deceive his own brother to cheat him out of a few measly dollars. Our leaders in the Arab and Muslim world are crippled because they have to beg for US aid. The real problem is that the value of the Muslim human being has plunged to the lowest level. And it is his own doing.

Why do we deserve every bit of misery inflicted upon us? Because we have renounced our own rights. We are economic refugees in this country and we don’t want to be involved in politics. Our past actions indicate that we do not believe social justice is important. The erosion of our civil rights has not moved us to a life of social activism. The government can wiretap every phone call we make, monitor our financial transactions, place us as suspects on secret lists and scrutinize our lives under its big microscope. All without the oversight of a court or the orders of a judge.

But the message we have sent through our scant political involvement is that we agree with the government, as long as it leaves us alone to collect a few more dollars. We will even help the government strip us of all of our civil rights. Some of us are willing to act as informants and high level operatives to neutralize any opposition from our own community. We have renounced our own rights and according to the Qur’an we will find our permanent shelter in Jehennam (hell). We need to reclaim our rights through elections.

The most important tool available to us in this political system is voting. In the past 4 years we have hardly used this tool. As a collective, we have shown very little interest in voting. It is the bedrock of Shura in Islam or participation. It is the best tool available to us to moderate some of the extremely disenfranchised voices in our midst.

We have to transform our community from economic immigrants to political immigrants. We have always vacillated between Democrats and Republicans. Our nature is like the nature of the majority of Americans; we are a morally conservative socially liberal community. We fit right in the center but we are forced to find a permanent home to the left of that center within the Democratic Party.

The Republican Party talks to us as a way to pacify us and it has the audacity to tell us that its policies are good for us. Republicans are not interested in real dialogue. They want to dictate the terms of surrender. They are obsessed with national security and they believe in the logic of “might is right.” Their solution to every problem is greater enforcement, more aggression and more defense spending.

The Democrats are searching for their soul to offer a viable opposition plan. They talk to us and they adopt some of the things that we tell them. They still view us as human beings with basic rights afforded to us under the constitution. They are the champions of anti-discrimination and civil rights. We may not be totally happy with their suave indecisive narratives, but the Republicans have slammed the door in our face.

Our issues are simple and they can be described in two phrases: social justice and participation. This applies everywhere whether in Palestine, Lebanon, Iraq or in Dearborn City Hall. In this primary, we must forget that a Republican slate even exists on the ballot.

Here, locally we have some excellent Arab American candidates like Adel Harb, Sam Salamey, Alex Shami and David Turfe. These candidates are making a great contribution in activating our community and upgrading its political awareness. They all deserve our most sincere gratitude and support. David Turfe, Alex Shami and Adel Harb were all members of the Arab American Political Action Committee (AAPAC). It was founded on the idea that one day its members will run for public office.

David Turfe is running for a Judgeship in Dearborn Heights. Alex Shami is running for State Senator and his name will be on the ballot in Dearborn and parts of Detroit. Adel Harb and Sam Salamey are competing for a Judgeship in Dearborn.

The fact that they are both competing for the same position should not dismay some people and cause them to think that they are breaking up the Arab vote. It is a free country and each candidate is convinced that this is the right time for him to run. Their efforts within the Arab community are extremely helpful and exciting. They are both campaigning very hard in the non-Arab community and this helps the unity of Dearborn and makes it stronger. I don’t believe that any political group within our community should fall into the temptation of endorsing one of these candidates over the other. It is not a good message to send to young aspiring leaders.

One thing I know for certain; all these Arab American candidates are helping us pave our way out of Jehannam (hell) and God-willing into paradise.