Peter King Plans To Keep Probing For Muslim 'Radicalization' In 2012

The chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee signaled Thursday he intends to keep investigating the American Muslim community despite a report this week that showed the number of Muslim extremists arrested for terrorism is on the wane.

Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.), said he would resume his controversial hearings on radicalization among Muslim-Americans this year despite critics who say the focus on one ethnic group fuels bigotry and paranoia.

The chairman also said the committee would hold hearings on Islamist money coming into the United States and on "Iran’s intelligence services, proxies such as Hezbollah, and its ally of convenience, al-Qaeda; and the looming Iranian terror threat to the homeland."

King will also continue his probe of leaks to a Hollywood filmmaker of classified details of the raid to kill Osama bin Laden, as well as about operations at the detention center at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, saying they "could endanger the lives of our intelligence officers and special operators, their families, and the homeland."

Previous hearings led by King last year on the same topic awakened a storm of controversy, with critics questioning whether Congress should single out a specific minority group as a possible threat to national security.

King held the controversial hearings, bearing the title “The Extent of Radicalization in the American Muslim Community and that Community’s Response.” Opponents such as Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) said the hearings dredged up the dark days of McCarthyism and only served to "vilify" a segment of the American population.

Also on the committee's agenda this year is an investigation of "the possible roles that the deceased al-Qaeda leader Anwar al-Awlaki and his at-large associates, Daoud Chehazeh and Eyad al-Rababah, might have played in facilitating the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001."

In addition, the committee plans to review security preparations for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London and seek obtaining Purple Heart medals for the military victims of the 2009 terror attacks in Little Rock, Ark., and at Fort Hood, Texas.

The committee has scheduled its first hearing of the year on Wednesday, when Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano will testify on President Obama’s 2013 budget request, expected Monday.

Comments

[tomcatv1]

12:52 PM on 06/19/2012

Easy to forget that before the Muslims, the IRA was considered pretty good at blowing people up. i don't remember the full force of congress behind an investigation.

[Amwiser Kafira]

12:43 AM on 03/15/2012

If I were him I would do exactly the same thing. That is because unfortunately these days, when you reference a report you have to consider the source because a report can be bought for a fee in order to serve a purpose. Whilst there are literally millions of people on the planet who think their sole life purpose is to promote Islam. There is no secret that we have identified specific methods of Islamic encroachment used by the Islamic lobby derived from oil money and that they will not hesitate to use it toward the purpose of Islam. Bravo Peter King.

[Ramon Noches]

02:57 AM on 02/11/2012

What a difficult job Peter King has to keep a serious eye on the probability of radicalization, without offending a majority of law-abiding citizens. While radicalization appears to be on the wane that does not mean it is over or that it could go higher. I would imagine several things come into play that could again ratchet up the threat level, from a serious world event that tips the scale for those who might be undecided, or even a local event where insensitive people mistreat, or defame those because of their religion. Overall, in looking at a worldview, no other group religious or otherwise commands such worldwide alarm and attention than Muslim terrorists. Thanks to their activities, taking a flight, which once was a simple process now requires body scans, frisking, limits on what one can carry onto an aircraft, and even armed marshals aboard many flights; costing us millions of dollars. All of the many security precautions have already changed "the American way of life" at least for those of us old enough to know the difference. The United States of America has a very high tolerance for religious differences when compared to many other countries.

[jockmama]

09:06 PM on 02/10/2012

I think America better get cracking investigating Peter King. HE sounds like a terrible threat to the American Way Of Life.

[MohammedAbbasi]

11:45 AM on 02/10/2012

The Crusader mentality is increasing in the US as Americans are becoming radicalised not so much by AlQaida but rather money/powerworshipping fanatics from Fox News, Extreme Right Republicans and other associated Neo-Nasties...

[brettwashere]

12:54 PM on 02/11/2012

I'm athiest and I understand Islam. To understand the violence in Nigeria to Magindinao (Phillippines) requires an in depth study of Islam - not by an Imam either. Read Sirat Rasoolullah by Ibn Ishaq or at Tabari - then read the Qur'an and Hadiths. An Imam is bade to lie to you about how peaceful the "religion" is this deception is called taqiyyah.

Islam is a complete societal system including governace, politics, law and geography. It is not just a religion as we in the west perceive it.

[vonrall]

09:51 PM on 06/10/2012

Frankly, it is bad for all of us today the Crusaders did not win . BTW the Muslims took the middle east by military conquest, they just weren't living there peacefully. The Crusades were justified . Islam was spread with the sword and only by a few lucky victories like Tours, Lepanto and Vienna was it stopped dead in it's tracks from infecting all of Europe. We should be far more radicalized to fight this evil menace which spreading once again. Hopefully the British will also realize the viper they are nursing within their country before it is too late.

[Truthiness4Me]

09:04 AM on 02/10/2012

I hate the word, "homeland". It reminds me of nazis.

[brettwashere]

11:31 AM on 02/11/2012

Fatherland

[patparco]

07:58 AM on 02/10/2012

With all due respect to the critics, Muslims are not an ethnic group. Persians, Turks, Indonesians, Malays and Arabs are ethnic groups with majority Muslim populations. Get it straight guys.

[brettwashere]

12:23 PM on 02/11/2012

That's not right: an ethnic group (or ethnicity) is a group of people whose members identify with each other, through a common heritage, often consisting of a common language, a common culture (often including a shared religion) and/or an ideology that stresses common ancestry or endogamy.

If one wishes to learn about Christianity - they should probably study who Jesus of Nazareth was. If one wishes to understand Islam - it makes sense to study who Mohammed was.

The Qur'an (recital) is ordered from longest chapters to the shortest and is based on subject matter - not chronological ie: Chapter 8 (the spoils of war) Chapter 9 (verses of the sword)

The Haditha (sing: Hadith) are books that are biographies testaments of Mohammed, by his companions, and present Mohammed in a more chronological way.

Historical scholors and Islamic writers have produced Ahadith or Sirat. Ibn Ishaq and at Tabari are examples of early Sirat writers.

Before 622 CE, Mohammed was, peaceful - after 622 CE Mohammed was violent and he charged his followers to remain violent and wage jihad until the enire world was conquered. This is the violence that we see today. Islam is not just a religion: it is a military doctrine, a code of law, a political entity, and one of two geographical countries: Dar ul Islam (Domain of Islam) whose flag is white with the black shahada and Dar ul Harb (Domain of war) whose flag is black with a white Shahada printed on it.

[patparco]

11:54 AM on 02/12/2012

A Persian may or may not find sufficient cause in shared religion to make common cause with a Turk or Arab. That is not enough to create a common identity or common interests. Historically these different Muslim nationalities and ethnic groups have run through every possible shifting relationship from allied to the bitterest of enemies. Sometimes allied with each other against non Muslims and sometimes allied with non-Muslims against each other. History is not the simple story you paint.

[AlP]

01:35 AM on 02/10/2012

This i diot funded the IRA. Does anyone not see the irony?

[Lorraine Terry]

12:53 AM on 02/10/2012

*SIGH*

[Stuart Crespin]

12:26 AM on 02/10/2012

More right wing paranoia, and fodder for Fox News.

[Stephen Holland]

10:35 PM on 02/09/2012

Lol,,Cain speaking on behalf of the good moral groups...how funny is that .

[Honest Babe]

10:35 PM on 02/09/2012

The new McCarthy. It seems we don't learn from history. People like this resurface every 50 years, bigoted and obsessed.

[Kab Ashraf]

03:05 AM on 02/10/2012

We do not learn from history. Between 1784 and 1815, the Barbary Pirates sacked our shipping, seizing vessels & cargoes and enslaving crewmen. The Marine Corps was created to deal with them.

When Jefferson asked the Dey of Algiers by what right they attacked us, his reply ran parallel to one quoted in Sahih Bukhari 4.53.386. In the short form: Allah commanded them to conquer the world and promised them eternity in his celestial bordello for their efforts.

Reagan, Carter, Bush, Shrub, Clinton & Obama failed to learn from Jefferson's experience and research.

[Diana Hibbard LoCascio]

10:27 PM on 02/09/2012

This is another hate filled endeavor by our local right wing extremist. I keep hoping he is going to retire because he keeps getting reelected despite my best efforts to vote him out!

[becalew]

08:14 PM on 02/09/2012

I hope he keeps it up. I worked in Federal Prisons for twenty years and I know radicalization for sure is going on almost unchecked.

[AlP]

01:36 AM on 02/10/2012

Huh?

[bi-poplar]

04:18 PM on 02/09/2012

Jobs?