On March 10, U.S. Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) held a hearing in
Congress on the so-called radicalization of Muslim Americans in order
to justify continuing attacks on the Muslim community. King is
chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee. The hearings have
been compared to the infamous McCarthy hearings on “un-American
activities,” which targeted Communists and progressives during the
1950s.
Even before the
hearings took place, protests against the hearings forced King to
back down on some of the more outrageous “witnesses” he had
planned to bring before the public. For instance, Ayaan Hiirsi Ali
was identified as a potential witness.
In an interview in 2007, Ali said, “I think that we are at war
with Islam” and called for Islam to be “defeated.” Later in the
interview, she suggested altering the U.S. Constitution to allow for
discrimination against Muslims. Due to public outrage, Ali was
dropped as a hearings witness once such facts became public.Walid
Phares was also a planned witness for the hearings. Phares is a
former official with a Christian militia implicated in the 1982
massacre of civilian men, women and children at the Sabra and Shatila
refugee camps in Lebanon and with links to groups that engaged in
systematic torture and atrocities during the Lebanese civil war.
That such witnesses
were even considered reveals the true agenda of the hearings, which
can be ascertained from remarks that King has made over the years.
Without any basis in fact, King announced the proposal for these
hearings by repeating his allegation that “over 80 percent of
mosques in this country are controlled by radical imams.” In
2007, he said, “Unfortunately, we have too many mosques in this
country.”
This hearing is rooted in bigotry and racist attacks on the Arab
American community. In New York City, a demonstration was organized
in Times Square to protest this assault on Muslims.
Other members of Congress have criticized King and this hearing.
“It has already been classified as a way to demonize and castigate
a whole broad base of human beings,” said Rep.
Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas). U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison
(D-Minn.) the only Muslim member of Congress, broke down as he spoke
at the hearing about Mohamad Salman Hamdani, a New York City EMT who
died on Sept. 11, 2001, trying to save others.
Ellison said; “After the tragedy, some people tried to smear his
character solely because of his Islamic faith, but it was only when
his remains were identified that these lies were exposed. Mohammad
Salman Hamdani was a fellow American who gave his life for other
Americans. His life should not be identified as just a member of an
ethnic group or just a member of a religion but as an American who
gave everything for fellow Americans.”
The anti-Muslim hearings are rooted in racism and religious
discrimination. King has said his next hearing will focus on the
radicalization of Muslims in prison. It is the responsibility of all
people of conscience to stand with the Muslim community as it faces
continued attacks from the U.S. government and an organized
anti-Muslim hate movement.
