By Bob Unruh
© 2011 WorldNetDaily
Rep. Pete King
Rejecting accusations that proposed congressional hearings on the threat of domestic Islamic terrorism represent a new generation of McCarthyism, U.S. House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, will allow the hearings to be run as committee chairman Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., wants, a spokesman told WND today.
King, chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security in the House, wants to conduct hearings this month on the "radicalization of the American Muslim community and homegrown terrorism."
But a letter last week from several dozen mostly Muslim organizations condemned the idea of hearings to investigate the Times Square bombing attempt and the Fort Hood shootings.
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"Muslims serve our nation as teachers, business owners, factory workers, cab drivers, doctors, lawyers, law enforcement, firefighters, members of Congress, and members of the armed forces,"
said the letter addressed to Boehner and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.
McCarthy's Senate hearings at the outset of the Cold War focused on rooting out communists from the U.S. government ranks.
"That dark chapter in our history taught us that Congress has a solemn duty to wield its investigatory power responsibly," the letter warned.
Contacted by WND today, however, a spokesman in Boehner's office indicated the majority leader will not attempt to direct a responsibility that now belongs to King.
King has criticized the Obama administration for not addressing more seriously the threat of domestic terrorism.
He's also suggested that leaders in the Muslim community haven't been jumping forward with cooperation. King said he's not trying to target the Muslim community, but instead wants to look at the facts of current cases.
"It's the fact that there's a real threat coming from this attempted radicalization of the community, and it's in many ways coming from overseas," he told Politico earlier.
The letter was signed by representatives for the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, the Arab American Institute, Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services, Council on American-Islamic Relations, Islamic Medical Association of North America, Islamic Networks Group, Islamic Society of North America, Muslim Advocates, Muslim Public Affairs Council, the Open Society Institute, Association of American Muslim Lawyers, American Muslim Law Enforcement Officers Association and dozens more.
"If Chairman King wishes to address violent extremism, then we hope you will ensure that he examines violence motivated by extremist beliefs, in all its forms, in a full, fair and objective way," the letter said.
"Providing a public, government platform for these erroneous and offensive views has consequences," the letter warned. "The American public takes cues from government officials. These hearings will almost certainly increase widespread suspicion and mistrust of the American Muslim community and stoke anti-Muslim sentiment."
The letter argued others around the world will note the U.S. government's actions.
"A hearing that demonizes the American Muslim community will not go unnoticed by Muslims around the world and will contribute to perceptions of how the U.S. government treats Muslims," the letter said.
King told Politico the letter didn't need an answer.
"I am too busy preparing for the hearings," he said.
"They contribute to every aspect of our nation's economy and society. The essence of our country is e plurubus unum: out of many, practicing their faith freely and contributing each in their own way, comes a strong, unified one.
"The hearings planned by Chairman King, however, are inconsistent with this vision of America. Singling out a group of Americans for government scrutiny based on their faith is divisive and wrong. 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. Sen. Joe McCarthy," the letter said.
