Live-tweeting the election #MuslimVOTE #YesWeCan #YesWeDid

Reason #1 for Muslim Americans to support President Obama: the road ahead

Let’s recap. President Obama has banned torture and tried to close Gitmo; he is committed to the two-state solution; engaged the Muslim World; showed strength in Libya and restraint in Iran; encouraged the Arab Spring; ended the war in Iraq and Afghanistan; defended the Muslim American community against Islamophobia; included Muslim Americans in his government; and has a record of success in leading America Forward on all the domestic issues that matter to Americans, Muslim or non-Muslim alike.

That’s the President’s record, and while there are issues with him on which we disagree, or remain disappointed in, we can’t ignore the fact that this list would have been very different under President McCain. The question is, who can we trust for the next four years? Which candidate – Romney or Obama – is more likely to make decisions like these?

We don’t know what lies ahead for our community, our nation, our Ummah, or our world. What wars or terrorism or economic crises lay in store? But when they do, only Obama has a record of success.

What about the other choice? Romney embraces Islamophobic advisors and surrounds himself with neocon architects of the Iraq War from the Bush Administration. Meanwhile, the third party candidates (Stein of the Greens, Johnson of the Libertarians) have no record of support for Muslim issues at all, and were skeptical of the Libya intervention.

We didn’t get everything we wanted with Obama, but we got more than we expected. For the next four years, Obama is the only choice for the Muslim community who will avoid wars, denounce Islamophobia, and treat the Ummah with respect. Obama is the only candidate who listens to our community, who has affirmed our right to be part of America, who sees a future in which the Muslim world is not an adversary but an ally.

Support President Obama for President. Vote tomorrow for Barack Obama.

Reason #2 for Muslim Americans to support President Obama: Domestic issues

President Obama’s policies have moved us Forwards on the economy, health care, financial reform, and saving the auto industry. He appointed two moderates to the Supreme Court and he ensured that the stricken communities on the East Coast after Hurricane Sandy got the help they needed. President Obama’s policies have created 5.4 million private sector jobs, and has had positive jobs growth every month since March 2010. And out of 500 campaign promises made by Obama during his first campaign for President, Politifact rates only 17% of them broken. Here’s a list of over 200 ways the President has improved the country. This is a record of success, which benefits Muslim Americans just as it benefits the rest of Americans.

Reason #3 for Muslim Americans to support President Obama: Including Muslims in Government

The President has sought to include Muslims in his Administration, appointing qualified Muslim Americans to senior-level positions, including Rashad Hussain and Farah Pandith. In 2007, Governor Romney said that he could not forsee himself putting a Muslim in his cabinet.

Reason #4 for Muslim Americans to support President Obama: Actively Addressing Islamophobia

While Republicans embrace Islamophobia (ex. the King hearings and the hateful rhetoric of the Republican primary campaign), the President has reaffirmed the place of Muslim Americans as valued members of American society.

President Obama has spoken up during episodes of anti-Islamic sentiment, including Terry Jones’ plans to burn the Qur’an, the Ground Zero controversy, and the recent anti-Islamic video.

He has also reaffirmed the critical role of Muslims in America in the State of the Union address in 2011, at the time of Rep. King’s witch-hunting hearings on the alleged radicalization of the Muslim community.

Overall, President Obama has raised the level of discourse regarding Islam and Muslims, rejecting offensive terminology and making clear that Islam rejects violent extremism.

537 Muslim Americans could have prevented the Iraq War #MuslimVOTE

Despite election fatiugue and email/TV campaign ad overload, Aziz Poonawalla has a timely reminder of how close the margin of a Presidential election can be – as few as 537 votes.

Muslim Americans in Florida, Ohio, Wisconsin, and other swing states should take this message to heart. We are a small community but we have a chance to play a big role. If only 537 of us back in the year 2000 in Florida realized this, and didn’t cast our votes for Nader or sat the election out – we might have prevented the Iraq Warm the Afghanistan War, the immense national debt from Bush’s tax cuts, and even possibly 9-11 itself.

That’s what is at stake.

This article is part of the “Election 2012 – American Muslims VOTE!” series, which is running on Altmuslim at Patheos, Altmuslimah, Illume, and Aziz Poonawalla’s news and politics blog on Patheos. Click on this special topics page to view all articles in this series and add your comments. Tweet your thoughts on this article, on the series, and on the 2012 elections using the hashtag #MuslimVOTE.

Reason #6 for Muslim Americans to support President Obama: The Arab Spring

President Obama has been a stalwart supporter of the Arab Spring, bluntly telling Hosni Mubarak to leave office. Likewise, the President also sided with the people in Tunisia, Yemen, and Libya, including $800 million in support, despite strident criticism from Republicans and the political risk to his re-election.

With regard to the ongoing situation in Syria, the President continues to work with the international community to pressure and sanction the Assad regime and to provide humanitarian support and other assistance. President Obama has clearly stated that the USA will get militarily involved if Assad mobilizes his weapons of mass destruction against his people.

Reason #7 for Muslim Americans to support President Obama: Libya and Iran

In 2011, President Obama made the tough and politically risky decision to intervene militarily in Libya in order to prevent a massacre of Libyan citizens in Benghazi by Moammar Ghaddafi. Governor Romney first criticized the President for not taking action quickly enough, and after the President gave the order, criticized him for acting too hastily.

The President is also determined to find a diplomatic solution with Iran and has worked with the international community on a system of sanctions, whereas Mitt Romney refuses to take military options “off the table” and insists that any attempt at diplomacy with Iran would be harmful to Israel’s security. Romney also criticized the President for not sticking his nose into the Green Revolution, failing to understand that doing so would have delegitimized the reformists ion Iran by association with American meddling. War with Iran is much more likely under President Romney than President Obama.

Reason #8 for Muslim Americans to support President Obama: Partnership with the Muslim world

President Obama outlined a comprehensive framework and vision for partnering with Muslim communities based on mutual respect, traveling to and addressing the Muslim World in Turkey and Egypt in 2009 (read transcript of his Cairo speech) and Indonesia (2010).

As part of that vision, the US has engaged in extensive outreach with the Muslim world in areas such as education, entrepreneurship, and health, science and technology (particularly the Science Envoys program), governance, civil society, and civil rights, and interfaith cooperation and charitable giving.

The Administration has also encouraged programs such as the Viral Peace program and the Generation Change event which are aimed at engaging younger generations of Muslims using entrepreneurship initiatives, social media, and entertainment.