King Hearings Wrongfully Single Out American Muslims
Civil and human rights groups again condemned today’s anti-Muslim hearings in the House Committee on Homeland Security, chaired by Rep. Peter King, R. N.Y.
“America broadly rejected the premise of today’s hearing, which was opposed by an unprecedented coalition of interfaith and civil rights groups as well as national security experts, affected communities, and many of Chairman King’s colleagues,” said Wade Henderson, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.
Rep. Keith Ellison, D. Minn., the first Muslim American in Congress, testified about why the hearing is unfair and will not help keep the United States safe:
“Today’s hearing is entitled, ‘The extent of Radicalization in the American Muslim Community and that Community’s response.’
It is true that specific individuals, including some who are Muslims, are violent extremists. However, these are individuals – but not entire communities. Individuals like Anwar Al-Aulaqi, Faisel Shazad, and Nidal Hasan do not represent the Muslim American community. When their violent actions are associated with an entire community, then blame is assigned to a whole group. This is the very heart of stereotyping and scapegoating, which is counter-productive.
This point is at the heart of my testimony today. Ascribing the evil acts of a few individuals to an entire community is wrong; it is ineffective; and it risks making our country less secure.
Solutions to the scourge of domestic terrorism often emerge from individuals within the Muslim community—a point I address later in my testimony. However, demanding a “community response” (as the title of this hearing suggests) asserts that the entire community bears responsibility for the violent acts of individuals. Targeting the Muslim American community for the actions of a few is unjust. Actually all of us—all communities—are responsible for combating violent extremism. Singling out one community focuses our analysis in the wrong direction.”
The Leadership Conference expressed similar concern when King announced his intention to hold a series of hearings on the subject. The coalition sent a letter to Chairman King on February 4 asking him to “postpone, reframe or cancel” them because, “as currently framed, these hearings will inevitably stoke anti-Muslim sentiment and increase suspicion and fear of the American Muslim community.”
“Any congressional inquiry should be broad in scope to include all forms of domestic terror threats, and it should include violence motivated by all extremist beliefs. We should strive to identify terrorists by their behavior rather than by their religion, race, or ethnicity,” the letter said.