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Arabs, Muslims Hold a Rally for Bush

By Niraj Warikoo
Detroit Free Press
Posted on Thursday October 14, 2004

The heated contest for Michigan’s Arab and Muslim vote came to Southfield on Wednesday evening, as more than 100 supporters of President George W. Bush gathered to rally for his re-election.

The crowd, a diverse mix of Arab Americans, Chaldeans, and Muslims of African and Asian descent, clapped loudly as Republican speakers explained why voters of Middle Eastern backgrounds should support Bush.

“This president has done more for our community than any other administration,” said Farmington Hills City Councilman John Akouri, a Republican of Lebanese descent who supports Bush. “More Arab Americans have the ear of him than any other in history.”

Last week, the Arab American Political Action Committee overwhelmingly endorsed the Democratic nominee, U.S. Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts. Several members said that Republicans have ignored the community since Bush took office. And recent polls show that Bush is behind Kerry among Arab-American voters.

So at Wednesday’s event, the speakers pushed hard to convince Arab Americans that Bush wants their vote.

The featured guest at the event was Spencer Abraham, the former U.S. senator from Michigan who is now the U.S. secretary of energy.

“George Bush cares about this community,” said Abraham, a Christian of Lebanese descent who was appointed to his job by Bush. Abraham said Bush is committed to freedom and democracy in the Middle East and has appointed other Arab Americans to top positions in government.

Others who attended the pro-Bush rally included Muslim leader Yahya Basha of Bloomfield Hills and Nasser Beydoun, who recently stepped down as executive director of the Dearborn-based American-Arab Chamber of Commerce.

Beydoun said there basically is no difference between Bush and Kerry on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, a major issue for Arab Americans. So he supports Bush based on other issues, like the economy, taxes and the war on terrorism.

But other Arab Americans say that Bush’s policies have hurt their community and America.

“It’s unfortunate they are being deceived by Bush’s words four years later,” said Abed Hammoud, the president of the Arab-American Political Action Committee. “Bush lied. He lied to us, to the nation, to the world. That’s enough to vote for someone else.”

Hammoud also said that Bush’s appointee Abraham failed to show up in the Arab-American community after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks to reassure them.

“He disappeared,” Hammoud said. “We didn’t see him.”