http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/03/10/AR2011031006317.html?wprss=rss_print One half of the Muslim contingent in Congress paused, his voice high and breaking. He tugged at his glasses. He held up a finger and gathered himself. Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), one of two Muslims in the House, was trying to tell a story about a Muslim paramedic who died responding to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. "Mr. Hamdani bravely sacrificed his life," Ellison said, and his voice cracked again, "â. . . to try to help others on 9/11." On Thursday, Ellison was an unusual witness in his own chamber, testifying about his religion in a committee hearing that examined radicalization among American Muslims. Eventually, Ellison gave up trying to compose himself and told the rest of the story in the quavering pitch of a man about to cry. "Mohammad Salman Hamdani was a fellow American," Ellison said, "who gave his life for other Americans." Ellison's testimony was the emotional peak of a dramatic, long-awaited hearing, in which Congress was in the spotlight as much as Islam. During more than four hours of testimony, there were other moments of touching depth: Two men told personal stories of seeing loved ones seduced by Islamic extremism.
King is obviously being an asshat, but I have to laugh at Sheila Jackson Lee as well. "She waved a copy of the Constitution and said the hearing might be a violation of laws prohibiting religious discrimination" Like she cares about the constitution.
Christ how ridiculous is Peter King. Why doesn't he go down to DC and talk to one of the dozens of research institutions that could answer his questions for him? Why call a hearing where a bunch of politicians can present anecdotal evidence on a very complex and sensitive issue? In a way, I'm glad. This is the kind of thing that needs to happen in order for the public to get over it. Like an infection running its course.
The best thing that can come from this is the facts become known and people get over the fact there are plenty of patriotic Muslim Americans and they all should be left alone. This type of hearing smacks of McCarthyism, though both parties have had plenty of hearings not more than witch hunts. The thing about McCarthy is that he wasn't exactly wrong. There really were communist and soviet agents in the government. The process was ugly.
But why hold these public hearings? I guess I don't understand how this process works. I'm not saying that there isn't a potential problem with homegrown radical Islam in America, but why not keep this shit behind closed doors other than to try and incite a culture war?
Beats me, though I can understand that King and his constituents were devastated by 9/11. It is nothing more than grandstanding and pandering. A lot like the Mosque at ground zero thing.
This is the problem when the vast majority of a religion is silent while evil is done in its name. Rep. King is investigating extremism within the mosques, not the religion in general. If everyday Muslims want the accusations to stop, then they need to organize and relentlessly speak out against Al Qaeda and say "not in my name, not in my religion". Their refusal to even acknowledge they have a problem in their religion is what drives many people to wonder where they stand. Sucks to be them, but they've let the tumor in their own faith to metastasize to a point where they can no longer passively say "of course I'm against extremism in my religion" but now have to agressively identify and out the extremist elements in their own mosques.
