The Moslem vote helped President Obama defeat former Governor Romney in 2012.  Islam is the fastest growing religion in the United States.  During the period 2000 through 2010, the number of Moslems in the United States grew by 66 percent.  The Moslem vote for the President was significant in Virginia, Florida, and Ohio, three of the so-called swing states.  In Virginia, for instance, the margin of victory for the President was almost 116,000 votes, and Virginia has more than 200,000 Moslems.  In Florida, the President won by an estimated 52,000 votes, but there are more than 167,000 Moslems in Florida.  In Ohio, the President won by an estimated 101,000 votes, but there are more than 150,000 Moslems.

In an op-ed entitled, Why Muslims Should Vote to Reelect President Obama, Munir Quddus offers several reasons for the President’s re-election, one of which is Obama’s defense of Huma Abedin.  He writes:

Through the annual Iftar party in White House and other events, he has conveyed a sense of profound respect and sensitivity for Islam and Muslims as a part of the national fabric.  He has mentioned Muslims along with Christian and Jews in his state of the union [sic] addresses. . . . He offered a strong defense for Huma Abedin [sic] senior aide to Secretary Clinton, who came under attack by Ms. Bachman and her friends in Congress. During the Iftar dinner he hailed Abedin as “an American Patriot” and someone who has “worked tirelessly in the White House, in the U.S. Senate, and most exhaustingly at the State Department — where she has been nothing less than extraordinary in representing our country and the democratic values that we hold dear.”

In a survey from last month of 600 Moslem-American citizens (of whom 97 percent were registered to vote), more than 72 percent said they were definitely supporting Obama, and another 8.5 percent were leaning that direction.  Only 11 percent were for Romney.  (The poll had a margin of error of 3.98 percent.)

Okay, so the Moslem vote helps get the President re-elected, but the survey highlights some disquieting trends.  In the same survey, 46 percent of the Moslem-Americans polled believe parodies of Muhammad should be prosecuted criminally in the U.S., and one in eight say that such an offense is so serious that violators should face the death penalty.  And while this poll said 7.2 percent of the respondents said they “strongly agree” with the idea of execution for those who parody Islam, another 4.3 percent said they somewhat agree.  Even stranger to me, another 9 percent said they were unsure on the question.”  So, we are now living in a United States where approximately one in five Moslems across America cannot say they believe Christians or others who criticize Muhammad should be spared the death penalty.  Is it just me, or shouldn’t this alarm others as well?  The poll also found 40 percent of Muslims in America believe they should not be judged by U.S. law and the Constitution, but under Sharia law.

So our Moslem neighbors like President Obama, who has lavished praise on Islam around the world.  (You will recall that, according to Barack Obama, “the most beautiful sound in the world” is the Islamic call to prayer.)    And yet, while Moslem Americans like the right to vote, they do seem to have a fundamental conflict with two bedrock American principles, expressing objections to the freedom of speech and religion guaranteed in our Constitution.

Another finding from the survey is how Moslems view Christian religious freedom. Asked whether U.S. citizens who are Christians have the right to evangelize Moslems to consider other faiths, 42 percent said Christians do not have such a right, while 28 percent said they were unsure on the question.  Further, one in five said Moslem men should be allowed to follow Islam in America, and have more than one wife.  Nearly one in three said Israel either has no right to exist or they were uncertain whether it does.

The high birth rate among Moslems living in the United States means their numbers will grow.  In addition, we can expect Obama’s policies that will invite many millions of Moslems to arrive in the United States in the coming four years, and to fast-track their U.S. citizenship.  In the meantime, let us share the beautiful Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ with Moslems as the mission field is already here, and ripe for harvest.