Al-Arian is not the only Arab-American feeling shut out by the Bush White House. Many Arab and Muslim leaders say the student’s ejection was the latest in a series of political snubs. In February Arab and Muslim organizations signed a letter calling on Bush to step up efforts to quell violence in the Middle East; they have yet to receive an answer. Bush also canceled an event commemorating the hajj–the annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca. Then last month Vice President Dick Cheney failed to show for a meeting with Muslim leaders in Washington, citing logistical conflicts. During the campaign Bush courted the Arab- and Muslim American vote more openly than any previous presidential candidate, according to the Arab American Institute and other watchdog organizations. And during the second debate he called for an end to the use of “secret evidence” to detain suspected terrorists–a hot-button issue with Arab-Americans. Within days Muslim and Arab leaders endorsed Bush and turned out the vote. Now some are questioning whether they made the right call. “This is an insult we have felt too often,” says Salam Al-Marayati, director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council. “It is time for a serious debate on our seat at the political table.”
It is a debate that has grown increasingly difficult to avoid. As the Arab and Muslim populations grow, so does their political clout. Arab-Americans now number more than 3 million. And the American Muslim population has grown to roughly 6 million, according to pollster John Zogby. The two groups are not one and the same–Arabs include both Muslims and Christians, and the Muslim faith includes black Americans, Africans, Asians and Europeans–but their issues often overlap. And because they are clustered in important battleground states like California, New York and Michigan, politicians are wary of alienating their constituencies. “It was once the kiss of death to be involved in that community,” says Democratic Rep. David Bonior of Michigan, who hired Al-Arian for the summer, before the White House flap. “Now a large number of people seek their support.”
Political sparks from the Al-Arian incident spread almost instantly. The Secret Service issued an apology within the hour. Democrats took quick advantage of the political opening. “This happens in airports, on our highways, and now we see it happens in the Bush White House,” said Bonior, who is counting on Arab support for his upcoming gubernatorial bid. The White House followed with an apology of its own. Bush aides were dispatched to run damage control, phoning in embarrassed regrets to influential Arab leaders like Washington lawyer and Republican fund-raiser George Salem and Osama Siblani, editor of the Michigan-based Arab American News. “Be patient and things will change,” the adviser pleaded, according to Siblani.
The expulsion of the intern was especially embarrassing for the administration because of the young man’s family background. Al-Arian’s father is one of the country’s leading advocates for repeal of secret-evidence laws (his brother-in-law was jailed for more than three years on allegations an INS judge dismissed in December). When Bush decried the use of secret evidence during the campaign, the elder Al-Arian campaigned vigorously for the Republican at mosques and Islamic cultural centers. “We certainly delivered him many more than 537 votes,” he says, referring to Bush’s margin of victory in the election. “Now they do this to my son.”
For all the indignation, some Arab leaders say the community is a victim of its own naivete. “Much of the vote for Bush was based on a hope and a prayer,” says James Zogby, the pollster’s brother and head of the Arab American Institute. “There was this unreal expectation that things would change overnight.” Others say some quick good will is in order. “I’m getting kicked in the chin for endorsing Bush, and I cannot continue to make excuses for him,” says Siblani. “He has to do something to pay this community back.”
Backing up his rhetoric against profiling and discriminatory laws, many say, would be a good start. A resolution to repeal secret-evidence laws is pending in the House; few Republicans have signed on. Muslim appointments to key committees like the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom are also needed, community advocates say. And Salem says he has personally urged his Republican colleagues to convene a meeting with Arab leaders as soon as possible. A Bush spokesperson told NEWSWEEK that White House and National Security Council staffers have met with Arab and Muslim groups on several occasions and that the president “looks forward to continuing a strong relationship with the Arab- and Muslim American communities.”
Abdullah Al-Arian says he is still feeling bruised, but wiser. The intern has plans to go to law school and is contemplating a career in public service. His humiliation has strengthened his resolve, he says, to work for increased Arab and Muslim participation in American politics. “I came here because I wanted to get a lesson in democratic process and learn the ins and outs of Washington,” he says. It just wasn’t quite the lesson he, or others in his community, had in mind.
