‘Witch hunt:’ King’s Muslim ‘radicalization’ hearings begin

House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Peter King (R-NY) listens to witnesses during a hearing on “The Extent of Radicalization in the American Muslim Community and that Community’s Response” on Capitol Hill in Washington March 10, 2011. REUTERS

WASHINGTON, D.C.  —  Al-Qaeda is targeting American Muslims for recruits to terrorism and the community must do more to combat radicalization, a U.S. politician has said as he opened hearings in Washington that have been criticized as a witch hunt.

Peter King, the chairman of the House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee, who called the hearings, has accused the Muslim community of refusing to cooperate with law enforcement and charged that preaching in some U.S. mosques was leading to radicalization.

“To combat this threat, moderate leadership must emerge from the Muslim community,” King said. “Today, we must be fully aware that homegrown radicalization is part of al-Qaeda’s strategy to continue attacking the United States.”

Democratic Representative Keith Ellison, the first Muslim to serve in the House, castigated the committee for its approach and broke down crying as he recounted the story of a 23-year-old Muslim paramedic who died when he responded to the September 11, 2001, attacks in New York City.

“After the tragedy, some people tried to smear his character solely because of his Islamic faith,” he said on Thursday.

“Some people spread false rumors and speculated that he was really with the attackers because he was a Muslim.”

He said that the young man should be identified as someone “who gave everything for his fellow Americans” rather than solely as a member of a religion or ethnic group.

Concerns raised over hearings

King has been criticized by religious and civil rights leaders for focusing on a single community.

Muslim U.S. Representative Keith Ellison (D-MN) becomes emotional during a hearing on “The Extent of Radicalization in the American Muslim Community and that Community’s Response” on Capitol Hill in Washington March 10, 2011. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

The New York congressman denied accusations that the hearings were “radical or un-American” and said there was no comparison between the threat by al-Qaeda and neo-Nazis, environmental extremists and other “isolated madmen.”

He defended the hearings, citing the open attempts by al-Qaeda fighters to recruit its members to launch attacks.

John Dingell, Michigan representative and the senior Democrat in the House, urged King and the committee to ensure that their investigation would not “blot the good name or the loyalty or raise questions about the decency of Arabs or Muslims or other Americans.”

The focus of the hearings have also raised concerns within the administration of Barack Obama, the U.S. president, to the point that a senior White House official was dispatched to speak to Muslim leaders in Virginia where he told them they were “not part of the problem.”

Eric Holder, the U.S. attorney general, took a veiled swipe at King on Wednesday, saying the focus by law enforcement was on individuals rather than an entire community because “we don’t want to stigmatize, we don’t want to alienate entire communities.”

Local, national organizations

echo criticisms of hearings

As protests of the hearings took place in major U.S. cities like Washington, D.C. and New York, local and national groups and leaders questioned King’s methods in statements and media appearances.

The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee submitted a Statement for the Record to the House Committee on Homeland Security, in stating: “(i)t is unfortunate that the Committee is missing an opportunity of not using its jurisdiction to conduct a hearing about the domestic threats that our country is currently facing within all sectors of our society. By selectively targeting the community of the Muslim faith, the Committee will engender continual anti-Muslim bigotry.”

The Council on American-Islamic Relations also submitted testimony into the official hearing record, which includes CAIR-Michigan’s cooperation in reporting suspicious activity to the FBI. The organization called the hearing “troubling.”

CAIR-MI Executive Director Dawud Walid commented: “Given that approximately 95% of domestic terrorism in America is committed by persons who are not Muslims, we find today’s hearing to have been little more than theatrics rather than finding real solutions to diminishing violence in our nation,” he said. State Rep. Hansen Clarke (D-MI) spoke at the hearing, referencing CAIR-MI’s regular meetings with federal law enforcement.

The Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services (ACCESS) released a statement from Nadia Tonova on behalf of the organization.

“Today’s congressional hearings are an unfortunate and counterproductive move that tarnishes an entire community with the broad and inaccurate brush of ‘radicalization,'” it read.

“Hearings like those today on Capitol Hill do nothing to change Americans’ broad misunderstanding of Islam. Instead, they only reinforce negative, destructive stereotypes and perpetuate the notion that radical ideas and actions are unique to the Muslim community.”

The Muslim Public Affairs Council called the hearings a “squandered opportunity for a critical conversation on violent extremism, opting for a political circus over genuine problem solving.”

The National Immigration Forum stated:  “These hearings are yet another example of House leadership using fear as a partisan bludgeon to pit one set of Americans against another. Instead of manipulating insecurities, responsible leaders should engage in a constructive debate about efficient national security policies and practical immigration solutions.”

U.S. Representative Gary Peters (D-MI) and fifty-six other members of Congress wrote a letter to Rep. King, saying they were “deeply concerned that the stated narrow scope and underlying premises of these hearings unfairly stigmatizes and alienates Muslim Americans,” and said the hearings run contrary to American values.

Dearborn Mayor Jack O’Reilly appeared on national TV speaking out against the hearings.

He went on CNN Tuesday and ‘Hardball with Chris Mathews’ on MSNBC Wednesday, saying on CNN that he believed King is exaggerating the threat of homegrown terrorism. 

 “When someone goes into what is supposed to be fact finding but they’ve already determined the outcome, then that fact-finding process is flawed,” O’Reilly told CNN’s Kiran Chetry.

“For us, we’ve lived for 80 years with Muslims as an active part of our community. We have direct experience — many of our young people are 4th and 5th generation Americans. Therefore, we have a pretty good perspective on what it is that Islam represents…the thing it represents is that they want to be fully American, they believe in America, they want to be part of our community. I think that’s something that’s been misrepresented and misunderstood throughout the country by certain groups,” he added. 

The New York Times and popular political satirist and TV host Jon Stewart among others  have also pointed out King’s past support for the Irish Republican Army, which has been condemned as a terrorist group.

Victor Ghalib Begg, a senior advisor and chairman emeritus of the Council of Islamic Organizations of Michigan denounced the hearings in an op-ed published by the Detroit Free Press.

“Sadly, (King’s) hearings will paint an entire faith community with a broad brush of suspicion and distrust based on the actions of a tiny minority of violent extremists,” he said.

Begg says King’s hearings are widely based on unsubstantiated claims and irresponsible generalizations and that he has repeatedly stated that American Muslims do not cooperate with law enforcement which isn’t true.

 “The Imams Committee of the Council of Islamic Organizations and other Islamic leaders in Michigan meet regularly with the local U.S. Attorney’s office and with the FBI’s Special Agent in Charge of the Detroit Office. Such meetings are equally aimed at protecting the civil rights of the Muslim community and making sure that there is a strong and open dialogue with law enforcement. Issues are openly discussed in order to build trust and enhance communications. While King claims this cooperation does not exist, he has declined to hear the testimony of law enforcement officials who have worked so diligently across America to build partnerships with the Muslim community,”  Begg said in the op-ed.

The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee sent out a notice warning of potential anti-Arab and anti-Muslim backlash following the hearings and urged people to be cautious and to contact local authorities immediately if necessary. They also said that those who feel they’ve been victims of a hate crime should contact the ADC Pro Bono Legal Department at 202.244.2990 or legal@adc.org.

In response to the hearings, CAIR-MI is hosting an event on Saturday, March 12 entitled “Be Counted Not Ignored,” to push for effective political participation from the American Muslim community moving forward.

Congressman Ellison and political strategist Mustafa Tameez will appear at the event, which will run from 2-5 p.m. at the Islamic Association of Greater Detroit in Rochester Hills.