Rep. Peter King is fueling a bitter divide
Protesters gather at the "Today, I Am A Muslim, Too" rally to protest against a planned congressional hearing on the role of Muslims in homegrown terrorism, on Sunday, in New York. Credit: AP
With Rep. Peter King's (R-Seaford) hearings on the "radicalization" of American Muslims due to start this week ["King defends probe," News, March 7], it is difficult to understand why his colleagues in Congress are allowing him to go forward.
Domestic terrorism is a rising concern in this country. That's made clear by shootings including the Jan. 8 massacre in Tucson that claimed the life of a federal judge, an innocent child and four others, as well as the recent incident in Nassau County in which a gunman nearly took the life of a volunteer firefighter. But targeting American citizens because of their religion makes no sense.
Rep. King's insistence in the press that mosques and Muslims are not cooperating with law enforcement has been contradicted by the FBI. Freedom of religion is a core American value and the right to be free from persecution based on one's religious beliefs is fundamental. Congressional hearings subjecting our citizens to public scrutiny of their patriotism because they worship in a mosque rather than a church is an offense against religious liberty and is downright un-American.
If King wants to hold hearings on domestic terrorism and is willing to look at all forms and sources of this problem, then that could be a service to this nation's security. But singling out Muslim Americans is morally offensive and tactically ineffective, and it gives aid and comfort to those extremists who want Muslims to believe that we are at war not with terror, but with Islam.
Rev. Mark Lukens
Editor's note: The writer is the chairman of the Interfaith Alliance of Long Island.
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