There are all sorts of reasons to oppose Rep. Peter King’s hearings Thursday on “the radicalization of Islam in America,” but the most powerful one is the fact that they are more likely to foment radicalization than undercut it.
The civil libertarian argument — something Republicans like King used to care about — is, of course, compelling. Imagine that these hearings were on “the radicalization of Judaism in America” and that they were following on efforts to stonewall a proposed Jewish community center in Lower Manhattan by a group calling itself “Stop Judaization of America.” All Americans of good will would rightly be up in arms.
The establishment clause argument against these hearings is equally compelling. As I wrote earlier, the hearings “should be either canceled or reworked to avoid the appearance that the U.S. Congress — whose members are 90 percent Christian — is using its power, contrary to clear meaning of the establishment clause of the First Amendment, to promote Christianity at the expense of other religions.”
Tags: american muslims, global war on terror, islamophobia, peter king, peter king hearings, terrorism
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