SAN FRANCISCO, Oct 4: The annual convention of the American Muslim Voice (AMV), a leading civil rights organization, on Monday highlighted the plight of Muslims and Arabs in America who have been under vigilance since Sept 11, 2001.

Inaugurating the convention, AMV's executive director Samina Faheem Sundas said that American Muslims are concerned about the homeland security but Bush administration's policies since 9/11 have been targeting the Muslim community. Three years after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the Muslim community in America, a victim of guilt by association, remains under siege, she added.

The convention of the California-based AMV coincided with a new security dragnet launched this month in the Muslim and Arab communities in the run-up to the November election. The new FBI campaign envisages, among other measures, surveillance of mosques and questioning of worshippers.

The AMV executive director said that this is the fifth incidence of an explicit FBI dragnet which has created a state of fear in the Muslim and Arab communities. Election 2004 and civil rights of Muslims was a major topic of panel discussion at the one-day convention.

Speakers pointed out that civil rights was the major issue for Muslims in 2000 presidential race when Muslims voted en bloc for Bush because of his pledge to address their grievances. However, since 9/11, the Bush administration policies made the Muslims and Arabs target of racial profiling, hate crimes and FBI interrogations while their mosques are under surveillance, they added.

The speakers pointed out that a consensus is developing in the Muslim and Arab communities to vote for the Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry despite certain reservations about his policies regarding the Middle East problem.

It was stressed that four polls, conducted during the last four months, indicate Kerry's popularity with the Muslims and Arabs. According to a Sept 22 Georgetown University poll, Muslims back Kerry over the incumbent Bush by a margin of 76 per cent to 7 per cent while 11 per cent support independent candidate Ralph Nader, an Arab American.

With estimated three million voters, Muslims and Arabs hold special importance in Nov 2 election because they have large communities in battleground states such as Michigan, Ohio and Florida. California has also one of the largest Muslim population in USA.