Source: U.S. National AFP
On September 7, 2004 U.S. National AFP reported, "the leaders of the US Muslim community said that they will announce whether they will endorse any political candidate for president this year, and if so whom, in mid-October... This time they want commitments on protections for Muslim civil rights up front, and on the record. 'There is a crisis of civil rights for Muslims in this country,' said Agha Saeed, chairman of the American Muslim Alliance, (AMA). 'Today, Muslims and Arabs are second-class citizens in the United States.' Speaking at the annual convention of the Islamic Society of North America, Saeed said the presidential hopeful who hoped to win the Muslim bloc vote must 'take a public position on principles (already) enshrined in the US constitution.'"