Critic: King鈥檚 Proposed Hearings on Muslim 'Radicalization' Evokes McCarthyism
U.S. Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.), known for his incendiary remarks about Muslim Americans, has asked for a round of hearings into the radicalization of Muslim America 鈥� a move at least one member of Congress worries smacks of a Joseph McCarthy-style witch hunt.
In an editorial published this week in Newsday, and in subsequent cable news interviews, King, the incoming chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, voiced concerns that American Muslims are being recruited to serve as domestic proxies for radical Islam. He said law enforcement should investigate what he describes as 鈥渉omegrown terrorism.鈥�
鈥淚 will do all I can to break down the wall of political correctness and drive the public debate on Islamic radicalization. These hearings will be a step in that direction. It鈥檚 what democracy is all about,鈥� King , adding that, 鈥淭o some in the strata of political correctness, I鈥檓 a pretty bad guy. To be blunt, this crowd sees me as an anti-Muslim bigot.鈥�
According to , King cites as an argument for his hearings the case of Najibullah Zazi, an Afghan resident of the United States arrested last year for plotting to bomb the New York City subway system. King said that an imam in Queens who had been a police informant warned Zazi before his arrest. 鈥淲hen I meet with law enforcement, they are constantly telling me how little cooperation they get from Muslim leaders,鈥� King told the Times.
Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Center for American-Islamic Relations, disputed King鈥檚 claim that American Muslims do not cooperate with police agencies. Hooper said several law enforcement bodies, including the FBI, have thanked Muslim communities for their assistance. He said King鈥檚 history of harsh comments against Muslims undermines the congressman鈥檚 credibility to make such claims. 鈥淗e doesn鈥檛 come to this issue with clean hands,鈥� Hooper said. 鈥淗e comes with the strong perception of bias and an anti-Muslim agenda, and that鈥檚 exactly what we don鈥檛 need at a time when anti-Muslim sentiment is skyrocketing.鈥�
In a 2007 interview with , King said, 鈥淲e have too many mosques in this country. There are too many people sympathetic to radical Islam.鈥� He later qualified the statement, saying, 鈥淭he quote was taken entirely out of context by Politico. My position in this interview, as it has been for many years, is that too many mosques in this country do not cooperate with law enforcement. Unfortunately, Politico was incapable of making this distinction.鈥�
It is not yet clear what 鈥渂reaking down the wall of political correctness鈥� will look like in King鈥檚 hearings. Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), the first Muslim to be elected to Congress and a vocal opponent of efforts to denigrate Muslims, said he is fearful that King鈥檚 hearings will cast a net of prejudice not seen since U.S. Sen. Joe McCarthy of Wisconsin staged his infamous hunt for communists in government in the 1950s.
鈥淲hat did Joe McCarthy do? He identified people he thought were subversives and then used his congressional gavel to hold hearings to drag people in,鈥� Ellison told HateWatch. 鈥淗e ruined a lot of reputations and injected a tremendous amount of fear in our country.鈥�
Lately, a number of extreme right-wing commentators and his efforts in a bid to revive and restore luster to his legacy.
The public may be receptive to King鈥檚 promised hearings. TIME magazine鈥檚 August cover asked, 鈥溾�� A TIME-Abt SRBI poll this fall found that 46 percent of Americans believe Islam is more likely than other faiths to encourage violence against non-believers. Only 37 percent knew a Muslim in America. Groups such as Pam Geller鈥檚 group Stop the Islamization of America (SOIA) and Brigitte Gabriel鈥檚 American Congress for Truth (ACT! for America) have sounded public alarms about what they perceive as threats from Muslims in America. Fox News commentator Glenn Beck used his radio pulpit to claim that 10 percent of the world鈥檚 Muslims are terrorists 鈥� a claim of highly dubious veracity.
Perhaps the most salient danger that King鈥檚 proposed hearings might present is that the publicity could provoke certain elements of society to resume violent attacks on Muslims. Anti-Muslim violence spiked after the 9/11 attacks in 2001, and reports of such crimes seemed to burgeon once again last summer as controversy over the so-called Ground Zero mosque in Lower Manhattan roiled across the country.
