Hugs 'n' Taqiyyah in Joisey

The keynote speaker at a Muslim Appreciation Day in New Jersey, a Muslim-Democrat love-in that attracted 500, revealed the results of a fascinating new poll:

...Keynote speaker Karam Dana, a faculty member at Tufts University and a post-doctoral fellow at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Harvard University, spoke about the results of a Muslim American Public Opinion Survey of which he was a co-author.

The survey, which questioned 1,410 Muslim Americans, is the largest of its kind, and Dana said it answers many of [Congressman Peter] King's questions about Islam because it specifically asks about religion.

He said the data show that Muslims who regularly attend events at their mosques, in addition to daily prayers, are more likely to be involved in politics and their communities.

His research also found that 93 percent of American Muslims surveyed felt airport security measures target Muslims. He said 30 percent did not associate with a political party, which is higher than other ethnic groups.

He said many Muslims supported George W. Bush and Republican candidates prior to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, but then felt that the party was pushing them out and rather than switching to Democrats, chose not to be affiliated. He said politicians should embrace the Muslim community.

"Empirical data show that Muslims are great citizens, they participate more in American politics when they attend the mosque, so mosques are no different from a Catholic church, a synagogue, in my opinion," he said. "If we honor our own individual identities and respect our differences we will continue to make this a great country."

Pace the prof's "empirical data," there's at least one huge difference between mosques and those other houses of worship: an estimated 80% of American mosques are affiliated with/financially supported by those wacky Wahhabis.