CAIR: Hillary Clinton to Win Muslim Vote by Landslide

Hillary Clinton (Justin Sullivan / Getty)
Justin Sullivan / Getty

A new survey suggests that nearly three-quarters of Muslim Americans will vote for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in the upcoming presidential elections on November.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) released its national survey Thursday, reporting that 72 percent of Muslim voters surveyed say they will cast their vote for Clinton on November 8, with 4 percent intending to vote for Trump and 12 percent undecided.

Although CAIR claims that its mission is to “enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding,” it has come under increasing fire for its unwillingness to condemn Islamist violence and its ties to international terrorist groups such as Hamas.

Despite its pretensions of being the voice for Muslim Americans, CAIR was designated as a terrorist organization by the United Arab Emirates, and has been criticized by leading political figures in the U.S. from both sides of the aisle.

Senator Charles Schumer (D. New York) has described it as an organization “which we know has ties to terrorism,” while Senator Dick Durbin (D. Illinois) has said that CAIR is “unusual in its extreme rhetoric and its associations with groups that are suspect.”

Moreover, Steven Pomerantz, former counterterrorism chief for the FBI, has noted that “CAIR, its leaders, and its activities effectively give aid to international terrorist groups.”

Earlier this year, CAIR called on Muslims to openly defy U.S. Customs Agents when questioned on travel from Islamic controlled countries, urging them to reply, “None of your Damn Business.”

Although CAIR did not reveal the formulation of the questions asked in its voter survey or what list of Muslim voters it used for the 800 “independent live telephone” calls that composed its study, it did report that the calls were made “after the first presidential debate” and asked about Muslim turnout at the polls, whom they plan to vote for in the election and what issues they believe are important in determining who to vote for.

During the second debate, Donald Trump said that Hillary Clinton was afraid to use the expression “radical Islamic terrorism” in describing America’s security issue, while Hillary Clinton eschewed the term “Islamic,” referring instead to “violent jihadist terrorists.”

Commenting on the debate, CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw criticized both expressions, insisting that the Islamic State has nothing to do with Islam.

“There is no jihad that the Islamic State could commit that would be in the name of Islam,” McCaw said. “I would never apply this term to the criminal state ISIS.”

According to CAIR, its survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percent.

Follow Thomas D. Williams on Twitter  

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