Congressman Peter King (R-NY), the new head of the House Homeland Security Committee, is brushing aside efforts to convince him to modify plans for hearings on "Islamist extremists" in America. Today's NYTimes reports :
As the hearings approach, the reaction from Muslim groups — initially outraged — has evolved into efforts to get Mr. King to enlarge the scope of the hearings beyond Muslims. They want to use the forum to reinforce the notion that the potential for terrorist violence among American Muslims is very marginal and very isolated.
…
But Mr. King dismissed this line of criticism…. (adding): “I’m not going to dilute the hearings by including other extremists.”
The very premise of these hearings is troubling, at best. Singling out one faith for scrutiny, and indeed investigation, runs counter to American ideals of religious freedom. No American should face a greater fear of government oversight and intrusion into their religious exercise simply because of their faith. As the Baptist Joint Committee and other religious liberty advocates argued in a letter to the Chairman :
These hearings will inevitably examine activities protected by the First Amendment, an affront to fundamental freedoms upon which our country was founded. It harkens back to hearings held in the 1950s by then-U.S. Senator Joe McCarthy. That dark chapter in our history taught us that Congress has a solemn duty to wield its investigatory power responsibly.
According to today's news report, Rep. King insists the hearings will proceed, and are set to begin the week of March 7. That's still plenty of time to change his plans. Let's hope he does just that.
