Congressman Peter King (R-NY) held hearings yesterday on “The Extent of Radicalization in the American Muslim Community and that Community’s Response”. We will ignore, for the moment, the question of just what possible good could come from hearings that seem designed to further antagonize and demonize the Muslim community in the US.
No, what’s really hypocritical here is that King was for years a strong supporter of the Irish Republican Army (IRA), a group that both England and the US labelled an actual terrorist organization (as far as I know, we have not — yet — labelled the entire Islamic religion terrorist).
We’ll hand it over to Jon Stewart to help King explain why some terrorists are more equal than other terrorists:
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Can a hearing title beg the question any more excessively? It’s presuming that American Muslims have been radicalized.
That beggar of a question hasn’t even got a sax and a permit to play in the subways… no, this beggar is instead sitting on the sidewalk, baseball cap upside down, while he eats a to-go salad (I actually saw this in Manhattan on my last visit). Contributing nothing and clearly not in need of our attention….
What gets me is that begging the question is basic logic: when someone proposed that title for the hearing, that person should have gotten snickered at for not having basic knowledge of logic and reasoning. (I feel like an old woman, but what *do* we teach in our schools these days? [Does anyone catch the quote I’m mangling?].)
I know you all think I would come out in support of this activity. At first glance, it seems logical. There are radical elements in our society actively recruiting young disenfranchised Muslim males. Portland knows that, NY knows that, but guess what? That’s the FBI’s lane and they are doing a fine job with the cooperation and assistance of all the federal law enforcement agencies. I’m sure he’s heard of the JTTF or Joint Terrorism Task Force if he’s the head of the Homeland Security committee. The JTTF will have the answers he seeks and most certainly are tracking data concerning that issue. IMO the only thing this “inquiry” will serve is to grandstand, showboat and disrupt an unknown number of ongoing federal investigations. I also think that’s the least of it, the worst is we will further alienate an already marginalized population.
That being said, I do feel the American Muslim population can and should do more public outreach and open condemnation of terrorists acts. Don’t misunderstand, I am aware they do, I just think they need to turn up the volume and gain the confidence of more middle Americans that they are Americans first. Concerning sharia, we have US law and State law, it is the law of the land and we should not allow freedom of religion to enact religious laws. Our judges and juries are who determines guilt or innocence on US soil and law enforcement is who gathers evidence and carries out the laws.
Actually, one of the things I admire about you, PSgt, is that you appear to be a pragmatist when it comes to the military and terrorism.
The question is whether King really wants to confront the problem that is out there and propose some solutions or he just exploits the issue in order to gain more support among those who are in favor of more radical policies.
Lorne Marr – I think your second hypothesis is the correct one.