Photo by waltarrrrr/Flickr (Creative Commons)
A view of the King Fahad Mosque in Culver City, CA, November 2009
The news of last Friday’s earthquake in Japan all but obscured what had been some of the biggest news of the previous day, the first hearing of a planned series in the House Committee on Homeland Security on the “extent of radicalization” among American Muslims, led by committee chair and New York Republican Rep. Peter King.
Muslim groups and other minority organizations condemned the hearings as xenophobic; King defended them as “absolutely essential.” Prior to the first hearing March 10 (the next one has not been scheduled), KPCC’s Public Insight Network sent out a series of questions to members of its audience, inviting Muslims and people of all faiths to share their take on the hearings.
By last Friday morning, the House hearing had quickly fallen off the news radar, but people continued to respond. The majority were Muslim, though Christian and Jewish respondents answered the questions as well. Here are some excerpts from their responses.
Q: King’s hearing is titled: “The Extent of Radicalization in the American Muslim Community and that Community’s Response.” How, if at all, does King’s asking these questions in Congress change how you feel or speak about Islam?
Nadia Hassan, Villa Park, CA: It doesn’t change anything at all for me. If anything, it enforces my speech and what I stand for, which is justice for all.
Yasmin Elhady, Orlando, FL: Muslims in America have undoubtedly carried the burden of explaining away the extremists in their faith who unleashed the violence and tragedy of September 11th, 2001, and beyond. Muslims in America constantly feel the pressure of defending their faith and helping people understand that Islam too has individual members who claim to follow the faith, but contort the teachings to serve their own selfish agenda. The hearings on “Radicalization” are an unfortunate setback for American Muslims who have been educating, informing, and cooperating with their American communities–both in law enforcement and in the civilian population.
