The chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, Republican Peter King (R-NY), is targeting Muslim-Americans in hearings this week. King says he sees an international movement with elements in the United States of Muslims (Muslim-Americans) becoming more "radical" and identifying with terrorists.Minnesota congressman Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to the House, says that while it's proper to investigate "radicalization", he thinks it is wrong for these hearings to single out a religious minority. "I worry about it," he said. "Everybody I talk to worries about it, and we're concerned about the breadth of this. It's absolutely the right thing to do for the chairman of the Homeland Security Committee to investigate radicalization, but to say we're going to investigate a religious minority, and a particular one, I think is the wrong course of action to take."
These McCarthy-esque hearings are appalling to many Freedom-Loving Americans, especially to mothers like Talat Hamdani, whose Muslim-American Firefighter son died rescuing people during the 9/11 attacks. She said, "the American Muslim community has been singled out for scrutiny by Rep. King on the flimsy theory that American Muslims do not cooperate with law enforcement. This perspective is disputed by law enforcement and counter-terrorism experts ranging from the sheriff of Los Angeles County to the former director of transnational threats at the National Security Council."
As Congressman Ellison and Mrs. Hamdani said, these "radicalization" hearings should be investigating ALL Domestic Terror groups and not racially profile ONE Group. This "radicalization" is coming from a variety of groups. Prior to 9/11, the largest domestic terrorist attack was in Oklahoma City, perpetrated by Timothy McVeigh and his partners in his local Militia group. Since 9/11, we've seen significant numbers of attacks from people like White Supremist Richard Poplawski, the Hutaree Militia (Detroit) and Andrew Stack who flew into the IRS building in Austin.
Let's be absolutely clear on what Tea-Party Favorite, Republican Rep. King is doing here. These hearings are part and parcel of the overall demonization of non-Northern European minorities and should NOT be tolerated. They are racial/ethnicity/religion profiling. They are McCarthy-esque. They remind me of Peter King's friend, Tom Tancredo's recent quotes:
- "Latinos and Muslims are members of 'problem' cultures."
- "Throughout history, people who are NOT WHITE Anglo-Saxon (Northern European) have become American by adopting a WHITE Anglo-Saxon (Northern European) culture."
Rep. King admits to this racial/ethnic profiling himself when he said:
"at this stage in our history there's an effort to radicalize elements within the Muslim community. And I've said, when we were going after the Mafia, we looked at the Italian community; the Westies, the Irish community. In New York, they go after the Russian mob, they go into the Russian community in Brighton Beach and Coney Island."
These hearings can only proceed if they are CHANGED to investigate ALL Radicalization by ALL groups and not single out ONE American group simply due to their religious beliefs. This would violate everything our country stands for. Our country was founded on Religious Freedoms. There are many religions that have practices I do not believe in and I do not adhere to including the Amish, the Mormons, Jehovah Witnesses and the Church of Latter Day Saints. Many people say these religions violate Women's Rights. If we target Muslim Americans for their religion, are they next?
For those of us who LOVE America and believe in the words of our Founding Fathers, it is imperative we stand strong for the rights of ALL of our people:
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men/women, of all ethnicities, religions, are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed!"
I like carrots.
ReplyDeleteSenator Peter King, a Republican from New York's Long Island, told CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday that he sees an international movement with elements in the United States of Muslims becoming more radical and identifying with terrorists.
ReplyDeleteDear Senator Peter King,
In regard of your statement, to control the American Muslims like some country did between 1933 and 1939 for a particular group of human in Europe. Should I assume you are not satisfied with the excellent job our security departments in the US are performing to keep us save in our country before and after 2001. I am proud, very satisfied and very thankful for the magnificent job performance of our male and female in all security branches of the US government.
Maybe you should pass a new law in Washington requesting in public places in the US a separation for Muslims and non Muslims customers should be establish. This could remind us to the tragic history of our color people may years ago. Also like in Germany from 1935 till 1939 every Muslim should ware on his clothing a crescent instead of a David Cross. Its sad to hear comments by US elected government official how Muslims should be treated in the US. What world history teach us about relion and freedom.…?
The religious persecution that drove settlers from Europe to the British North American colonies sprang from the conviction, held by Protestants and Catholics alike, that uniformity of religion must exist in any given society.
This conviction rested on the belief that there was one true religion and that it was the duty of the civil authorities to impose it, forcibly if necessary, in the interest of saving the souls of all citizens. Nonconformists could expect no mercy and might be executed as heretics. The dominance of the concept, denounced by Roger Williams as "inforced uniformity of religion," meant majority religious groups who controlled political power punished dissenters in their midst. In some areas Catholics persecuted Protestants, in others Protestants persecuted Catholics, and in still others Catholics and Protestants persecuted wayward coreligionists. Although England renounced religious persecution in 1689, it persisted on the European continent. Religious persecution, as observers in every century have commented, is often bloody and implacable and is remembered and resented for generations.
Dr. Ahmed Dahamni
Professor
this is really horrible. anyway, thanks for the article.
ReplyDeleteWhen you look for white supremacists, you look in the radical white churches and other such organizations. When you look for Russian Mafia members you look in the Russian communities. When you look for Italian Mafia members, you look in the predominately Catholic Italian churches and neighborhoods. When you look for Radical Islamic people, you look in the Muslim neighborhoods and mosques.
ReplyDeleteNo one is calling all Muslims radical.
Fred of Sunnyvale, CA
Illegal immigration..needs to be solved.
ReplyDeleteIslam is one of few faiths that also represents a way of life, those things that Islamists do are apt to intersect with the lives of non-Islami¬sts in many ways. Given the current inertia within Islam to spread its faith and way of life, there will doubtlessl¬y be push-back by the Judeochris¬tian majority. The Constituti¬onal system which we live under makes this intersecti¬on inevitable and frequent. The aggressive moves by the Islamists in concert with this "push-back¬" make Rep. Peter King's hearings essential. King is educating the ignorant, left-wing anti-Zioni¬sts. and the innocent, unaware average citizen. Many of the latter unfortunat¬ely bought George Bush's lie that "Islam is a peaceful religion." Many volumes have been written to the contrary.
ReplyDeleteAtlanta,
ReplyDeleteMany said the same thing about the Mormons, Amish, Jehovah Witness, Scientologists and the Born Again Militia members. Should we next target those groups?
I go back to the beliefs of our founding fathers, especially those beliefs that supported "Freedom of Religion." Most Muslim Americans ARE NOT terrorists nor do they support Terroristic beleifs.
I can support King following up on Radical Extremists who he has evidence of Radicalism/Terrorism. People like the Shoe Bomber or the Hutaree Militia, or the OKC bombers.