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2004
Election Plan
AMT
defines objectives, issues, strategies; sets forth a bottom-up,
community-based decision-making process
AMT
2004 Election Plan
The
AMT 2004 Election Plan consists of seven (7) key elements: 1)
objectives, 2) issues, 3) strategy, 4) community education and
mobilization, 5) criteria-based feedback from the community 6)
community-based decision-making process, and 7) tasks
for individuals and organizations during Jan-Nov. 2004.
Objectives
Our
four main objectives are to: 1) become full partners in the
defense, development and prosperity of our homeland, the United
States, 2) defend civil and human rights of all, 3) mainstream
the American Muslim community, and 4) develop alliances with
like-minded fellow Americans on a wide variety of social,
political, economic and moral issues.
Issues
In
2004 Election we will focus our efforts on a "Civil
Rights Plus" agenda. By this we mean that ‘the civil
rights for all’ is the main issue but not the only issue. We
remain equally committed to education, homelessness, economic
recovery, environmental and ecological safety, electoral reform,
crime, and global peace and justice.
Our ‘civil rights plus agenda’ is broadly organized
under three categories: a)
civil and human rights, b) domestic issues of public good and
general welfare, c) global peace with justice, prevention of
war, and US relations with the Muslim world.
Strategy
Our
overall strategy is premised on the belief that “Our vote is
the best guarantee of our civil rights and the best expression
of our citizenship”. The
AMT will organize strategic mobilization of the American Muslim
voters at local, state and federal levels, with primary focus on
key states and key races.
Voter
Registration and Voter Education
Viewing
elections as an opportunity for both self-empowerment and direct
participation in discussions about all issues including
America’s sense of direction and destiny, the AMT shall expend
its maximum energy in educating, organizing and mobilizing the
American Muslim voters.
Criteria-based
feedback from the Community
The
AMT has set up a
system to get the American Muslim voters to provide feedback
about candidates on the basis of the following criteria:
-
Position
on Civil Rights and other key issues detailed above
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Performance
Record
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Inclusiveness
Community-Based
Decision Making Process
1. Community
Input - Each participating organization will be obliged to
make a good faith effort to reach out to its own members to
ensure their participation in the decision making process.
Organizations will be free to seek such participation and
policy input through opinion polls, questionnaires, community
forums, town hall meetings, e-groups and other similar means.
Each organization shall make a good faith effort to enable each
of its members to have an equal say in the decision making
process.
2. Organizational
Input
- The Taskforce shall make good faith effort to ensure that each
member organization will receive equal consideration during the
decision-making process.
3. AMT
Questionnaire for Presidential Candidates:
The AMT will send a questionnaire to all presidential candidates
to ascertain their position on issues of importance to Muslim
Americans. The AMT will also ask each candidate for an exclusive
meeting.
4. Candidate
Research and Scorecard:
In addition to the above questionnaire the AMT shall research
presidential candidates and issue a scorecard to enable
community members to make informed judgments about various
candidates.
Tasks
for individuals and organizations
We
ask all community members and organizations to fulfill their
obligations as informed voters and responsible citizens during
this election year. Here
is a list of tasks that your may want to perform individually
and / or collectively:
The
American Muslim Taskforce on Civil Rights and Elections (AMT) is
an umbrella organization representing American Muslim Alliance
(AMA), Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), Islamic
Circle of North America (ICNA), Islamic Society of North America
(ISNA), Muslim Alliance of North America (MANA), Muslim American
Society (MAS), Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC), Muslim
Student Association - National (MSA-N), Project Islamic Hope (PIH),
and United Muslims of America (UMA). The
objective of AMT is to protect civil and human rights and to
encourage American Muslims to be part of the mainstream American
politics. For more information, please contact:
39675
Cedar Boulevard, Suite 220E, Newark, CA 94560
Phone:
1-510-252-9858, Fax: 1-510-252–9863
Email:
info@americanmuslimvoter.net,
Website: www.americanmuslimvoter.net
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