The American Muslim (TAM)

Response of Civic Organizations and Interfaith Community to “Muslim Radicalization” Hearings

compiled by Sheila Musaji
Posted Mar 11, 2011 •Permalink • Printer-Friendly Version

Response of Civic Organizations and Interfaith Community to “Muslim Radicalization” Hearings

compiled by Sheila Musaji

PRIOR TO THE HEARING

The NAACP has sent a letter to Rep. King

On behalf of the NAACP, our nation’s oldest, largest and most widely-recognized grassroots civil rights organization, I am writing to strongly urge you to reconsider holding the narrowly focused and reckless hearings planned by the Committee on Homeland Security, tentatively scheduled for March 10, 2011, on the “Extent of Radicalization in the American Muslim Community and that Community’s Response.” Such a hearing, as presently planned with it’s limited and skewed focus on one religious- ethnic group, would be not only counter-productive as it clearly does not provide a focus on so many of the other “homegrown terrorist” groups working to radicalize sectors of U.S. religious communities, but it is also divisive and potentially harmful to our nation’s security interests.

The NAACP is no stranger to domestic terrorism: as the surviving friends and family of Harry T. and Henrietta Moore, Medgar Evers, Martin Luther King, Jr., Schwerner, Goodman, and Chaney, and Emmitt Till, not to mention the 168 killed and 450 injured in the Alfred T. Murrah building in Oklahoma City, and too many others can attest, we are all too familiar with the evil concept. We are also too familiar with the process of being ostracized and demonized because of who we are or what we look like. Finally, members of the NAACP also have a long history of working with and benefitting from the goodwill of people of all races and ethnicities regardless of their background. It is clear that the most effective means of identifying terrorists is through their behavior — not ethnicity, race or religion.

Factual history has clearly demonstrated that “homegrown domestic terrorism” cannot be relegated to one racial or ethnic group. To do so is to overlook actual historic and current events, which are both riddled with terrorist acts by extremists from a large variety of racial, ethnic, political, social and religious groups. Furthermore, by identifying one group as being largely responsible for current terror threats against our nation, you are promoting misinformation and stereotypes that can only build mistrust among members of that group. This in turn will make it more difficult for members of that group to cooperate with authorities in identifying or reporting genuine threats, and more unlikely that they will. On the other side of the equation, this approach creates
misguided hostility towards or Muslims or perceived Muslims by perpetuating stereotypes which incite further misunderstandings or even violence against those groups.

So I must again urge you in the strongest terms possible to rethink the focus of your proposed hearings on domestic terrorism. The United States today clearly faces a wide variety of dangers, from both foreign and domestic sources, and to focus on one group presents not only a disservice to that group, but also to our Nation. I look forward to working with you in the upcoming Congress to help identify and eradicate threats against our Nation. Please feel free to contact me whenever you feel that the NAACP can be of assistance.

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights (a coalition of 200 organizations) has written to Rep. King to express their deep concern about the proposed hearings.**

51 faith, civil rights, and human rights organizations send letter to John Boehner and Nancy Pelosi to formally ask Congressional leaders to object to divisive hearings targeting millions of American Muslims that House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Peter King (R-NY) has called for later this month on the “‘radicalization’ of the American Muslim community.”

128 Religious Leaders Express ‘Profound Concern’ in a letter to King. The letter said in part

[T]oday, Muslim-Americans in many communities face fierce opposition when they propose to build a mosque to worship peacefully. Ever growing numbers of Muslims are victims of hate crimes. This bigotry and discrimination, rooted in fear and ignorance is corrosive to the soul of our nation.

As religious leaders and people of faith, we stand together to express our profound concern about the Congressional hearings you have proposed to investigate the Muslim-American community. We fear this effort will only further divide our community and undermine our nation’s highest ideals. We urge you to cancel these hearings.

The National Jewish Democratic Council (NJDC) statement

Representative Peter King’s upcoming hearings regarding ‘The Extent of Radicalization in the American Muslim Community and that Community’s Response’ are truly detrimental - detrimental because they target and single out one community, solely based on its religious affiliation. American Jews - and all Americans concerned about the rights of religious minorities, upon which this country was founded - should be deeply troubled about the chilling effect calling out Muslims through a congressional hearing can and will have on religious tolerance.

Fighting terrorism and protecting our homeland are profoundly important issues, and they require serious engagement in Congress. But this can be done in ways that do not imply the vilification of an entire religious community. Deputy National Security Adviser Denis McDonough had it right on Sunday when he encouraged Americans to ‘not stigmatize or demonize entire communities because of the actions of a few…. Put simply, we must do exactly what al Qaeda is trying to prevent. We must come together, as Americans, to protect our country in a spirit of respect, tolerance and partnership.’

We commend those who have spoken out against the divisive profile of Rep. King’s hearings - and the effort to investigate adherents to any one faith. We encourage other organizations, public figures, and members of the American Jewish community and beyond to take a stand against intolerance even as we work together to keep our country secure.

Rabbis for Human Rights statement

The members of Rabbis for Human Rights-North America (RHR-NA) proudly stand with our fellow children of Abraham, the Muslim American community, in urging that extremism be fought wherever it is found, and that one community not be singled out for unnecessary scrutiny.

RHR-NA represents hundreds of rabbis of every Jewish denomination, who unite in the common belief that every human being is a reflection of God’s image. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights—written in the aftermath of the Holocaust, when hatred and discrimination against a minority group reached a horrific conclusion—holds up the universal values of freedom of religion, freedom of worship, and freedom from discrimination. These universal values are also deeply American values. The United States has long been a place of safety for members of minority groups. We cannot undermine our values out of a misplaced belief that it will keep us safer.

Today’s world is fraught with a danger. We understand that we have to challenge fundamentalism, but in the pursuit of that goal, we must not fragment the family of humankind. The threat from extremist groups is real, but these hearings will only serve to strengthen those who hold hatred against Muslims in the heart. Extremism—and violence—it is found in every religion and in every community. It is un-American to single one minority group for scrutiny. If we have a society that scapegoats entire religious groups or ethnic minorities based on what a few individuals do, Jews and other minorities will not be safe either. Government hearings should not be used for political sound bites at the expense of the safety and well being of religious groups in America.

The Jewish community is acutely aware of the consequences of singling out newcomers for discrimination and prejudice. It was not so long ago in this country when many communities looked on Jews with suspicion, would not sell them homes, and discouraged the building of synagogues. We have in past faced hatred because of our religious customers and distinctive garb, and we thought that our country had learned from the Jewish experience to embrace members of all religious and ethnic groups with open arms. Instead, we watch with alarm as cities and states prevent the construction of mosques, and hold misguided campaigns to outlaw Sharia law. Rep. King’s hearings merely add fuel to the fire, spreading the misguided notion that our Muslim neighbors and colleagues—who work hard, support our communities, and are proudly America—undermine our collective safety.

The Torah commands us to protect the stranger, because we were strangers in the land of Egypt. Indeed, the injunction to love the stranger is mentioned more often in the Torah than the laws of the Sabbath or of keeping kosher. Today, that commandment impels us to join together with Muslim Americans and people of all faiths in opposing discrimination. If we stand together, we are stronger. If we stand together, we ensure we are safe. If we stand together, united, then we will ensure that American values are upheld.

Friends Committee on National Legislation (Quakers) sent a letter to Rep. King and prepared an action alert ** The letter said

We call on you to reject the premise for the hearings called by the chair of the Homeland Security Committee, Rep. Peter King, on the “The Extent of Radicalization in the American Muslim Community and that Community’s Response.” As a faith-based group, we believe strongly that it is inappropriate for Congress to inquire into the teachings and practices of any religion. Congress is empowered, rather, to inquire into criminal actions and plans that are detrimental to the United States, without regard to religion.

The committee’s chair has publicly dismissed criticism of the topic of this week’s hearing, saying that the concerns are based on “political correctness.” We would urge the committee to consider that our objections are based, rather, on constitutional correctness. This Congress, with its heightened concern that all congressional actions be grounded on the Constitution, must not lose sight of the First Amendment to the Constitution, which takes religion off of Congress’s agenda: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”

The unfairness and disingenuousness of singling out this one religion, when the majority of terrorist acts committed in this country in recent decades have been committed by people with other or no religious roots, is appalling. The threatening and violent consequences of such a hearing are already evident to the mainstream of Americans who disdain the false divisions promoted by this hearing. The threat is particularly injurious to women, who are most visible as Muslims due to their garb.

Congress has a responsibility to conduct its affairs in accordance with the Constitution, and in a manner that will not create an immediate and lasting danger for a significant number of Americans.

Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF) and The Sikh Coalition sent a letter

We, the undersigned Sikh American advocacy organizations, write to express our
opposition to your decision to single out the Muslim American community for scrutiny during the House Committee on Homeland Security’s March 10, 2011 hearing on domestic radicalization. As detailed below, we believe that the hearings will exacerbate bias and discrimination against the Sikh American Community as well as those who are or perceived to be from the Arab, Muslim and South Asian American communities.

Sikh Americans in the post-9/11 environment have endured hate crimes, workplace discrimination, racial profiling, and school bullying on account of our appearance. Although the overwhelming majority of Americans who wear turbans are Sikhs, we are often mistaken for Muslims and have experienced the same bigotry to which Muslims are subjected. Like Muslim children, our children are called “terrorists” at school.1 Like Muslim men who keep beards for religious reasons, our men are summarily denied jobs with law enforcement agencies, despite our desire to pursue such careers with honor.2

Like Muslims of both sexes who wear religious headcoverings, Sikhs are subjected to disproportionate screening at airports, despite the availability of screening technologies that obviate the need for such screening.3

As Sikh Americans, we therefore have some insight into what it is like to be perceived as a Muslim in the United States. In our judgment, your hearing will sensationalize the extent of radicalization among American Muslims and simultaneously reinforce bigoted stereotypes of the sort that underlie hate crimes, discrimination, bullying, and profiling against members of the Sikh, Arab, Muslim, and South Asian American communities.

From our prior experience, this will eventually lead to backlash attacks against our communities. Our concerns about backlash are compounded by your failure to publicize studies indicating that 7 out of the last 11 Al Qaeda plots were foiled with the assistance of Muslims, and that most terrorist plots against the United States since 9/11 have involved domestic non-Muslim extremists.4

In light of the foregoing concerns, we urge you to take a more nuanced approach to the problem of domestic extremism in the United States. By forcing all Muslim Americans—and only Muslims Americans—under the microscope, you are giving intellectually dishonest cover to bigots and endangering our beleaguered communities. (They also sent a statement for the Congressional Record ** )

The ACLU and 40 other civil rights groups sent a letter to Rep. King **

The ADL sent a letter to Rep. King the day before the hearing **

National Council of Churches statement **

Rabbi Arthur Waskow of Shalom Center **

80 Long Island Interfaith Leaders ** and **

Rabbi Amy Eilberg **

Dominican Sr. Jeanne Clark, coordinator of Pax Christi Long Island. **

American Jewish Leaders Statement of Solidarity with American Muslims **

Coalition of Interfaith groups condemn hearings **

Intersections International statement **

National Security Network statement **

The Baptist Joint Committee **

The United Methodist General Board **

The Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) Denounces Rep. Peter King’s Anti-Muslim, McCarthyistic Hearings on Domestic Terrorism **

The Military Religious Freedom Foundation universally denounces the horrifying, McCarthyistic hearings currently being held by Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.), chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee. These malicious hearings, allegedly investigating domestic terrorism, are inexcusably racist and denigrating. Rep. King and his reprobate ilk are shaming the United States of America. Since these “hearings” were first announced, MRFF has received a non-stop torrent of calls from its Muslim American United States soldier, sailor, marine, airman, cadet, and midshipmen clients who feel dehumanized, marginalized, comprehensively humiliated, and threatened by these transparently bigoted “hearings.” To date, 259 Muslim American military MRFF clients have stepped forward to ask for our help. They know America’s checkered past – African American slavery, Japanese internment camps during WWII, McCarthy’s black lists during the Cold War – and they are deeply afraid.

MRFF is proud to serve them. Our civil rights advocacy relationship with U.S. Muslim military personnel has been commended and specifically supported/endorsed by the U.S. Department of Justice Community Relations Service, the Muslim Public Affairs Council, the entire Muslim community within the Pentagon (where MRFF stopped rabid Islamophobe Franklin Graham from preaching on the evils of Islam at the National Day of Prayer event there), Sheila Musaji, Editor of The American Muslim Magazine, Council on American-Islamic Relations, Muslim American communities such as American Muslims of Puget Sound, and many interfaith organizations. We honor all brave Muslim American armed forces personnel who have given their lives for our country while Rep. King is busy ignominiously hunting down and terrorizing their families. Rep. King’s wretched anti-Muslim campaign is horribly offensive to all our United States servicemen and women who richly deserve our deepest honor and respect for their sacrifice.

MRFF will not allow this vile desecration of the human and civil rights of our Muslim American armed forces clients, nor will we stand by while this disgusting travesty blatantly threatens our national security. Rep. King is conducting a scurrilous witch hunt in the face of Department of Homeland Security findings indicating that white supremacist lone wolves pose the most significant domestic terrorist threat. Instead of mercilessly demonizing the peaceful, innocent American-citizen followers of the world’s second largest religion, perhaps Rep. King would have more success rooting out the very same scourge among his staff and supporters which his hearings are recklessly and inhumanly fostering – intolerance, hatred, bigotry, racism, prejudice and extremism.

AFTER THE HEARING

Rabbi Marc Schneier of the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding **

Shoulder-to-Shoulder Interfaith Group held a press conference in the same Congressional building as the hearing at the end of the hearing **

Statement by South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT), OCA, Japanese American Citizens League (JACL)

As organizations representing South Asian, Chinese, Japanese, and other Asian American constituents around the United States, we have grave concerns with the tenor and scope of the hearing. As we had anticipated, the hearing did not produce any significant contributions to the crucial issue of national security. Rather, they continued to scapegoat a single religious community.

As Asian Americans, we are extremely disappointed with the targeting of a particular community within the halls of Congress. Along with Asian American communities, South Asian, Arab, Sikh and Muslim Americans share a long history in this country and have played an invaluable part in building this nation. Yet our communities have also faced discrimination and alienation in America. One of the most shameful chapters in our country’s history remains the Japanese American internment during World War II. Sadly, the parallels between the treatment of Japanese Americans and the backlash endured by South Asian, Arab, Sikh and Muslim Americans in the aftermath of September 11, 2001, have been drawn before, and are all the more pertinent today. To question the loyalties and beliefs of a single community simply based on religion or race divides and alienates all Americans.

We applaud Congressional members and law enforcement agencies who voiced their disagreement with Representative King’s hearing. Over 50 members of Congress as well as the Congressional Asian, Black and Hispanic Caucuses sent letters to Representative King asking him to reconsider the focus of the hearing. We also commend the members of Congress present at the hearing who urged a return to constitutional values and underscored American principles of tolerance, diversity and religious freedom.

We call upon Congress to engage in an objective dialogue about national security that focuses on constructive solutions, not scapegoating and targeting of particular communities. **