ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on elite influence in shaping Muslim perceptions of the socio-political environment they encounter. The Obama candidacy represented the potential for a level of government responsiveness that had not previously existed for this group. Whatever degree of closeness Muslims feel toward Obama, however, the reality remains that the president is a non-Muslim. Arguably the best way to capture the influence of Muslim elites on group cohesion—or, more precisely, elite attempts at influence—is to observe elite communication in action. The focus group data suggest that Muslims in America may utilize assimilationist behaviors in navigating the complex waters of political life in the Trump political era. The chapter discusses the assimilation representing the use of the political system and other resources to support ingroup interests. It explores correlation with data from a national survey of Muslims in the US carried out via telephone during the winter and spring of 2009.
