Muslims in the U.S. feel “betrayed�?by Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, who spent his childhood years in Muslim Indonesia and is still thought by some Americans to be a Muslim himself.

Obama has visited churches and synagogues during his campaign, but has not yet appeared at a single mosque, according to The New York Times.

Muslim and Arab-American groups have repeatedly tried to arrange meetings with the candidate, but those invitations have been spurned �?while Obama has met with their Christian and Jewish counterparts.

“In interviews, Muslim political and civic leaders said they understood that their support for Mr. Obama could be a problem for him at a time when some Americans are deeply suspicious of Muslims,�?The Times reports. “Yet those leaders nonetheless expressed disappointment and even anger at the distance that Mr. Obama has kept from them.�?

Two Muslim women wearing head scarves were barred by Obama campaign volunteers from appearing behind the candidate at a recent rally in Detroit. Obama later phoned the women to apologize.

“The community feels betrayed,�?declared Safiya Ghori, government relations director in the Washington office of the Muslim Public Affairs Council.

Some Muslims are reportedly dismayed by Obama’s forceful denials of rumors that he is secretly a Muslim. On his Web site he calls the claim that he is a Muslim a “smear.�?

Democratic Rep. Keith Ellison of Minnesota, the country’s first Muslim congressman and an early Obama supporter, told The Times: “A lot of us are waiting for him to say that there’s nothing wrong with being a Muslim.�?

Obama’s alienation from the Muslim community could cost him in key states where there are sizable populations of Muslims, including Florida, Ohio, and Michigan.