Muslim caucus debuts in Denver

Ellison, the first Muslim man elected to U.S. Congress. Ellison says this an important event for American Muslims. He says it’s up to Muslims to do something about their feelings, if they feel unwelcome. Ellison says Obama is an inclusive man who is grateful for the support he has received from the Muslim community, even though there was a time when people in the Obama campaign panicked over associations with Islam. There about 50 Muslim delegates at this year’s DNC and there’s a lot of excitement about Obama’s candidacy. This man is a first time delegate from Washington and his story is anything but ordinary. He was wrongly accused of being a terrorist by the Bush administration and was sent to Guantanamo, or that’s the short story according to him. More details include the fact that he’s a vet of the first Gulf War, a West Point graduate, and a Muslim convert who studied Arabic in Syria. He was given the position of Muslim chaplain at Guantanamo Bay and then he started questioning the treatment of detainees. He spent more than two months in solitary confinement for allegations such as bringing classified information out of Guantanamo Bay. He eventually was cleared of all charges and was given honorable discharge. He is working actively to change the administration to Democrat from Republic and his experiences are what motivate him now. He and other Muslim Democrats in Denver are trying to spur democrats into action. This delegate says he’s clear of how tricky things are for Obama. Smart politics doesn’t mean you compromise your values. About 2.5 million Muslims live in the U.S. and most are foreign born and that is a diverse group. As to who they’d vote for, one Muslim said at the moment it’s hard to find Muslims who’d vote Republican.