ST. LOUIS (AP) — After the call to prayer, the call to vote is going out to Muslims in the St. Louis area — and around the nation.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim civil rights group, is registering voters to give a stronger, more united political voice to Muslims living in the United States.
Last week, organizers registered Muslim voters at two St. Louis-area mosques. It is part of a nationwide effort to sign up 1 million new voters for next year's election. Estimates of the number of Muslims in the United States vary dramatically, from 2 million to 6 million.
Volunteers from the group's St. Louis chapter visited the Daar-Ul-Islam mosque in west St. Louis County and a mosque on the campus of Saint Louis University.
American Muslims have grown especially concerned about protecting their civil rights following the federal government's scrutiny of the community after Sept. 11, 2001, said Nihad Awad, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.