Thirty-nine year old Daad Katato, a Palestinian American political activist associated with American Muslims for Palestine, is voting for Cynthia McKinney in the upcoming election.

Daad Katato

Katato, of Troy, says “I’m thinking of voting for Cynthia McKinney because I feel the other two candidates are not fair to Arabs or Muslims… Obama is better than McCain.” Katato says the most important issues to her are education and healthcare in Michigan. She supports John Conyers for U.S. Congress.
Her husband, Khalil, echoed the support for the Green Party candidate for President. “I will be voting for Cynthia McKinney. I don’t like the Democratic or the Republican candidate, I think they’ll end up performing the same on Arab concerns. They haven’t been paying enough attention to the Arab community.” But Khalil Katato’s most important local concern is the race for the U.S. Congress for his district, which includes Troy. “I’m voting for anybody other than Knollenberg. He’s just against Arab concerns almost all the time. In resolutions against Syria, against Iran, against Gaza, on all of them he has voted against Arabs.”

Kenwah Dabaja

Kenwah Dabaja, 32 year-old Lebanese political analyst from Dearborn Heights, who works for the Michigan House of Representatives, is a Barack Obama supporter. “I’m going to vote for Barack Obama. I’m a strong Democrat and I have very strong Democratic values because I feel the party has been very inclusive to Arab Americans and for diversity. He’s the right candidate to take the country to a different level and to get the respect we deserve abroad and domestically.” While Dabaja hopes all Democrats win their races next week, one race is of particular concern. “I specifically hope Rashida Tlaib wins in the 5th district for State Representative. I know she has a very good chance and it would be great to have an Arab and Muslim as a state rep.

Wally Yelda

But listen to Wally Yelda, 45 year-old owner of Victory Liquor and Food in Dearborn. Yelda lives in Wixom and is a Chaldean Christian born in Iraq. “I’m going to vote for John McCain based on my religion. I don’t like his ideas or his plans, such as supporting George W. Bush and the Iraq invasion, but I have to vote based on Christian moral issues.” And Yelda’s local race of interest? “I like Joe Knollenberg for Congress. He has touched on a lot of issues as far as Christians in Iraq. He hasn’t spoken about raising taxes, and he’s trying to create jobs and stabilize Iraq.”
Another Iraqi, Dr. Hashim Altawil, professor at Henry Ford Community College in Dearborn, says “Of course I will vote for Obama, but I’m not sure that this is the best choice. If you compare him with McCain, of course he’s the best choice, but I’m reminded of eight years ago when almost all Arab and Muslim voters voted for George W. Bush. It was almost the same kind of euphoria people have for Obama. It’s really difficult to figure out the politics of the whole situation but I think Obama is sincere and he will do positive things for the whole country.” The local issue of most concern for Altawil? “Proposition 2, I’m with it. I think it will open up a lot of possibilities for medical research and scientific breakthroughs and it will benefit the people.”

Ali Balleed Almaklani

Ali Balleed Almaklani of Dearborn, executive director of the Yemeni American Benevolent Association and a Muslim, says “I’m voting for Barack Obama, of course, for the change for the future of the country. I think eight years of Bush is enough. I have seen that Barack has a great vision, a goal, a strength, and he’s willing to talk to both friends and enemies. I’m asking all my friends, family, community, city, state, and nation to vote for Obama.” Almaklani also is pushing for Rashida Tlaib. “I hope that everyone who lives in the 5th District will vote for Rashida Tlaib. She is an Arab Muslim and the community needs some representation. She also has connections with the Latino and African American communities.
Zuheir Abdel-Haq, 56 year-old Lebanese owner of NJ Diamonds in Dearborn, is voting for Obama “simply because this country needs fresh blood, honest people, and decent people who have a brain and who have the hearts of the public. He knows what the public is suffering from, he’s exciting, he’s honest, and I think he will lead this country in the right direction.” Abdel-Haq’s local concern is shared by many in this city where better than two-thirds of the student population is Arab Muslim. “In Dearborn there are two races I’m very interested in because they’re very important. For Dearborn School Board, Mary Lane and Aimee Blackburn have proven that they are level-headed and more intelligent than the rest of the board members. And they do care about all the children of Dearborn, not just one sector.” And he is also very interested in the judicial race for 19th District Court, a very controversial race.”In the race between (current Judge Mark) Somers and challenger Candyce Abbatt, I’m supporting Somers because for the first time in the history of this town we have someone who is honest, tough, and fair, and he cut out the nepotism and cronyism inside the courthouse.”

Kim Salem, a Palestinian American who works in Southfield, says “I’m voting for Obama, I feel education is an important topic for me and I like his views on that and on energy. I think he’d be a positive change for the United States and I feel he understands people a lot better than his running mate; his outlook and demeanor are very positive.” Salem is also interested in Proposition 2. “I’m voting yes on Proposition 2 because we need further development in research and hopefully finding cures for a lot of diseases that could be cured in the future. It’s important to widen our range of research.”

Mohamed Abdullah, a volunteer for the Yemeni American Association is another Obama supporter. “I’m voting for Obama for several reasons. The first one is that we see war in Iraq and we are looking for some change. We’ve been in disaster with (Bush) and things will not be the same with Obama, that’s my hope.” Locally, Abdullah supports all Democrats but is especially concerned that U.S. Senator Carl Levin is reelected. “He is friendly with the community, especially with the Arabic and Muslim communities in Michigan, and he always helps the immigrants when they need something from the embassy in Yemen.