July 16, 2003	Wednesday	Jumadi-ul-Awwal 15, 1424

SAN FRANCISCO, July 15: Alarmed by the erosion of civil rights of the seven-million-strong American Muslim community in the aftermath of the Sept 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, two major American Muslim organizations have merged to form a new organization known as the American Muslim Congress (AMC).

The San Francisco based-American Muslim Alliance (AMA) with about 100 chapters in 34 states and the Washington based-American Muslim Council (AMC), a major Muslim advocacy group, have decided to merge and form the new organization to pool their resources.

The two organizations played an important role in motivating American Muslims to vote en bloc for George Bush in the 2000 presidential election.

An election study showed that 72 per cent of Muslims voted for President Bush. But since Sept 11, Muslims feel that they are being singled out by the Bush administration for racial profiling and harassment.