A number of Muslim activists in the United States are denouncing congressional hearings on “the radicalization in the Muslim American community” slated to begin on Thursday (March 10).
Ever since announcing his intentions to convene the hearings last December, Republican Rep. Peter King, chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, has been at the center of controversy.
“[King] has released some statements saying things like there are too many mosques in America, alleging that 80 to 85 percent of American Muslim leadership is extremist, and never being able to point to any evidence that backs that up,” said Corey Saylor, national legislative director at the Council on American-Islamic Relations. “I think that raises reasonable concern about the direction he might go in with these hearings.”
Despite the backlash from many in the Islamic community and even a fellow congressman, Rep. Mike Honda, D-Calif., King maintains that the purpose of the hearings is to examine the level of cooperation between law enforcement and Muslim leaders.
But many Muslim-Americans remain unconvinced. Salam al-Marayati, executive director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, told The New York Times that King is essentially trying to “treat the Muslim-American community as a suspect community.”
In a Washington Post article, Habeeb Ahmed, chairman of the Islamic Center of Long Island, wrote that King became noticeably distant from his Muslim constituents following the 2001 terrorist attacks.
“He used to come to our weddings. He ate dinner in our homes,” said Ahmed. “Everything just changed suddenly after 9/11, and now he’s holding hearings to say that people like us are radical extremists. I don’t understand it.”
One particular aspect of the hearings receiving special attention is King’s witness choices. After reports surfaced claiming that Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Walid Phares were being considered as potential witnesses, Muslim activists were appalled, mainly because both individuals have been labeled as highly biased critics of Islam.
“What kind of a process is going on that Congressmen King is going to say, ‘I am considering this person for a witness’ publically and then it takes people just a few minutes to show why these witnesses are really potentially troubling people,” said Saylor.
And while King dropped both Ali and Phares from the witness list, his newest addition, Zuhdi Jasser, did not help mitigate suspicions. While Jasser is Muslim, he aroused controversy for writing an opinion piece in the New York Post that said, “House hearings on Muslim radicalization would only be the first step toward finally crafting a US offensive against political Islam.”
According to a survey conducted by Public Opinion Research and the Religion News Service, 56 percent of Americans support the upcoming congressional hearings, while 29 percent say they are a bad idea.
Nonetheless, the survey also concluded seven in 10 Americans believe Congress should not single out the American Muslim community but instead investigate all types of religious extremism, an option that many in the Islam community support.
“More than 250 separate organizations have signed on to letters, along with numerous individuals interfaith leaders, calling on King to either expand the scope of the hearings…or to just cancel out the hearings,” said Saylor. “There has been a lot of concern about what he is going to do with these hearings and the impact that can have on the American Muslim community.”
But, Saylor said, “I’m still always willing to give somebody the benefit of the doubt until we see what finally occurs.”
