The Baptist Joint Committee has been vigilant in its critique of Rep. Peter King's (R-NY) plan for hearings this week investigating what he calls Islamic "radicalization" in the United States. Last month, a letter (pdf) signed by the BJC and the heads of dozens of other religious organizations urged the Congressman to re-think his plans to focus solely on Muslim Americans.
On Monday, the BJC participated in a conference call with representatives from law enforcement as well as civil and religious liberty groups to reiterate the point that singling out the Muslim faith misleads the American people and sets a dangerous precedent damaging to the cause of religious liberty.
And yesterday, the BJC's Brent Walker sent his own powerful letter (pdf) directly to Chairman King.
While the BJC applauds your committee’s mandate to investigate terrorist threats, singling out a particular religion sets an unfortunate precedent. A sweeping, general equation of terrorism with Islam—or any religion—is both dangerous and disingenuous. It is a suggestion that plays on a wide spread misunderstanding of the Muslim faith, and it encourages the American people to view extremist outliers in Islam as representative of the entire faith. That would set a troubling standard that could lead to further discrimination against all faiths.
See highlights and documents from the BJC's recent efforts to combat anti-Muslim rhetoric here.
