American Muslims in Politics

I was waiching a Pbs documentary on muslim americans and native american woman who was also a muslim had a grat point in her speech that had answered my question of why people of my background and middleeast don't like to be a polititian here in America, here is a piece of her talks:

"Before September 11th, the American Muslim community showed little appetite for large-scale political participation. A large number of Muslims were relatively recent immigrants to the United States, focused on settling down, raising their children and earning a living. Many came from dictatorships – countries where the democratic process was either completely unknown, or largely irrelevant, so they didn't trust the system.
September 11th accelerated the community’s learning curve dramatically. Now, Muslims are realizing they must stand up for their rights, as minorities before them have done, and voice their concerns about issues involving civil liberties, immigration law, and the Patriot Act. 9/11 galvanized Muslim Americans and forced them to become active participants in the political system, through advocacy and by running for office. "

if you like to read more about muslim Americans & their issues please click on:
http://www.pbs.org/weta/crossroads/about/show_muslim_americans.html