The Blast Wave From Powell's Endorsement Is Now Hitting The GOP In The Face

Muslim-American voices heard in presidential race

Story Highlights
- Muslim-Americans, like other Americans, concerned about the presidential race
- One Muslim got involved after receiving e-mail falsely saying Obama is Muslim
- Muslim-Americans: We are affected by the same issues as anyone in the U.S.
- Colin Powell says it should not matter whether a candidate in Muslim


By Ashley Fantz

(CNN) -- Muslim-Americans say they are more interested than ever before in the political process, in part because their religion has been reduced to a talking point in the presidential campaign.



Fatema Biviji, in white by sign, poses with members of the grassroots organization she founded in Texas.

Like many other Americans, the estimated 2.3 million Muslims living in the U.S. have been hurt by a limping economy, a problematic healthcare system and an unclear immigration policy. And the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have also hit close to home.

Fatema Biviji, 32, had never given much thought to politics until she received an e-mail earlier this year that said -- falsely -- that Sen. Barack Obama is a Muslim. The Internet hoax, its origin unknown, was apparently intended to tie Obama to terrorism and swing support to his opponent, Republican Sen. John McCain.

"I was so mad," Biviji said. "The premise of that e-mail is that a person's religion should decide a person's character.

"We're America, the melting pot, the land of diversity, and that Americans would be buying into that psychology was upsetting," said the New Jersey-born Muslim, whose parents are from India. "The e-mail offended my American ideals."

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