Congress Hearings on Muslim Radicalization

[Bismillah]

Republican Rep. Peter King of New York plans to hold hearings in Congress next year on the "radicalization" of Muslim communities, his office confirmed to the Hotsheet.

As first reported by the New York Times, King is planning to hold the hearings once he takes up the chairmanship of the House Homeland Security Committee. He says the hearings are planned in response to complaints from law enforcement officials that Muslim leaders have been uncooperative in terror investigations.

"When I meet with law enforcement, they are constantly telling me how little cooperation they get from Muslim leaders," King told the Times. "It is controversial. But to me, it is something that has to be discussed."

The hearings come at a time of increased concerns about "homegrown" Muslim terrorists - along with persistent fears that innocent Muslims have been unfairly targeted since the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

Muslim leaders told the Times they have strong concerns about King's proposed hearings.

"We are disturbed that this representative who is in a leadership position does not have the understanding and knowledge of what the realities are on the ground," said Abed A. Ayoub, the legal director for the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee. He added that King's proposal "has bigoted intentions."

I am wondering what Congressman King, the same King who opposed the "Ground Zero" Mosque, would have me do? I am a young Muslim who could be categorized as devout, I frequent the mosque several times a day, live in a large community with one central mosque (there are branches such as an Ahmadiyya mosque) with a large number of refugees from Somalia, Iraq, and Afghanistan due to the large airbase. Every Friday virtually the entire community gathers under the mosque to listen to a sermon by an Iraqi mufti. My mosque was blacklisted after 9/11.

So given these factors what exactly am I supposed to do?

What do you think about the hearings and how effective do you think they will be in their stated goals or what could be unintentional consequences of these hearings?

 

[esmith]

I would assume that you are a devote Muslim and attempt to follow the teaching of your faith. If you do not believe that the attempted and successful radicalization of some member of your faith is correct, then you should be on your guard to guard against this. Throughout history there have been groups, whether they are identified with religion, country, tribe, or beliefs have expressed their displeasure with society in violent terms. I am not saying at this time Muslims are the only ones that are using violent means to express their beliefs; However, it appears that the majority of the terror acts are of the Islamic faith, at this time. We all know that people are subject to propaganda that influences how we act and think. If the current radicalization of Muslims continue then there will be negative feelings toward Muslims in general, this is just human nature. If you do observe or hear of activities that could result in violent acts should you report them? That is something you are going to have to decide for yourself. We should all be able to live together on this planet without the problems that are going on today, but as we all know that is highly unlikely. I do not know where these hearings are going or what will be the outcome; However, we have to come to an understanding of why it is happening and what can be done about it. Governments usually go to far and take excessive steps to correct what they see as a problem. I think all of you in the Muslim world should take a close look and try to solve the problem yourself, ask for help if you need it.