Bloomfield Hills, USA - Dr. Abdul Raheman Nakadar, a retired cardiologist and political activist, says he finds a particular aspect of the 2008 campaign for the U.S. presidency curious.
Why, Nakadar asks, are the campaigns of Senators Barack Obama and John McCain not reaching out to Muslim leaders in Metro Detroit, like campaigns in elections past, to arrange for public meetings and campaign appearances?
"Any candidate should address the issues of American society, not a particular religion," said Nakadar, the publisher of The Muslim Observer, who has worked to get local Muslim voters to polls in past elections. "But when you ask a certain group for support, then you must. I would have expected both of them to reach out."
Some in Metro Detroit, with one of the largest populations of Muslims nationwide, perceive the 2008 election as a regression. Unlike 2000 and 2004, neither candidate of major parties is meeting publicly with imams. Nor are they vying to appear in mosques, despite visits to churches and synagogues.
Spokesmen for McCain and Obama say the candidates are addressing issues of interest to Muslim voters. But many local Muslims say the dearth of attention and negative portrayals of Islam in the campaigning leaves them, at best, ignored in an election in which a woman and an African-American have shattered historic barriers as candidates.
They point to specific strategies by the campaigns to appeal to evangelical Christians, Catholics and Jews, and say: Why not us?
Some say they may support a third-party candidate or stay home on Election Day.
Many see an abiding prejudice. Persistent rumors brand Obama, who is a Christian, a Muslim. McCain recanted a claim that a Muslim should not be president.
Muslim leaders say they must fight to maintain the gains of generations of American Muslims who, like other religious, racial and ethnic groups, struggled to secure a redoubt in American political life.
"McCain and Obama are not saying anything about Muslims and Arab Americans, and we are being discriminated against every day," said Jana Musleh, 18, of Westland, who is working with the nonpartisan Arab American Institute to turn out the Arab vote. "They are not saying anything about our issues."
Musleh and other Muslims who encourage voters say they are meeting with no small amount of apathy and outrage.
"I feel like I am in a losing battle," said Eftikhar Saleh, a teacher at the Star International Academy in Dearborn Heights, a volunteer for the Obama campaign.
"They are so afraid to talk about Islam because they don't know what to say. And they don't know what the American public will think because there is this overall fear that Islam is somehow a dangerous religion, so they don't want to go near it."
Campaign strategy
Observers say electoral strategy dictates the approach to Muslims.
"There's been a long whisper campaign that Barack Obama is somehow a closet Muslim," said Michael Fauntroy, an author and professor of public policy at George Mason University. "Rather than deal with it straight on, he is not going to call any attention to it.
"And with McCain, he is so closely tied to the Bush administration policies; he is unlikely to get their support."
It is the avoidance that rankles Muslims, many of whom have a savvy appreciation for why the candidates are steering clear of them.
"One of the aspects that contributed to make this a great issue was the unfortunate negative debate that controlled the Democratic Party nomination race," said Imad Hamad, regional director of American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee.
"Unfortunately, those who oppose Senator Obama tried to use his race, his national origin, and tried to promote that he has an Arab name and the Muslim faith. Up to this day, they throw it in his face."
Candidates respond
Obama's father was a Muslim for a time, before leaving the faith. He had little involvement in the life of his son, who is a Christian. Some Muslims say they had great hopes for Obama based on his call for a dramatic change from the politics of the Bush administration, rather than any sense that he is predisposed to Muslims.
Obama's campaign in Michigan will eventually include "aggressive outreach" to people of all backgrounds and faiths -- including Muslims, said a spokesman, Dan Leistikow.
"We are still building our campaign organization in Michigan, but Senator Obama is deeply committed to reaching out to people of all backgrounds and faiths who share his commitment to changing America."
The McCain campaign issued a statement saying that their candidate is "talking to all voters," especially at town hall meetings.
"The Muslim American community in Michigan is one of great entrepreneurial spirit made of many small business owners," the campaign said. "Senator McCain's plan to strengthen our economy includes measures designed to help small business owners compete in this struggling economy."
While Muslim support for Republicans is in sharp decline since the 2000 election, when polls show most voted for Bush, even supporters of Obama say he must do more to attract Muslim voters.
"Our country is full of special interests, and maybe we are not quite a special interest, yet," said Tarek Baydoun of Dearborn, a law student at the University of Toledo.
"Beyond that, a big reason Obama has not been able to interact with the community in a healthy fashion yet are the unjust attacks on him -- as if he should have to qualify his religion."
By and large, Muslim issues aren't that different than those of other voters. According to a poll conducted for the Council on American Islamic Relations this year, the top issues for them are education, civil rights, health care, jobs and the economy and relations with the Muslim world.
Push to register voters
Muslim and Arab American leaders say the difficulties of the campaign are causing them to launch campaigns to encourage participation. The Anti-Discrimination Committee signed up 550 election volunteers two weeks ago at the annual Dearborn Arab International Festival. The Arab American Institute launched a nonpartisan get-out-the-vote campaign
"It makes my job three times as hard," said Hassan Abraham, 25. Abraham, who had worked for the institute helping to turn out the vote, accepted a position with the Obama campaign locally.
"But it also makes me three times as committed. I realize, at the end of the day, that some of these issues are born out of fear and anxiety and hatred, mostly from people who really don't know Muslims. And I just feel that this election is so important."