Peter King Should Cancel His Despicable Witch Hunt Now!

This Thursday, the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, Rep. Peter King (R) plans to hold hearings on the radicalization of Muslim Americans. Rep. King told the Associated Press that:

"There is a real threat to the country from the Muslim community and the only way to get to the bottom of it is to investigate what is happening."

Peter King should cancel his despicable witch hunt for four reasons.

First, the hearings will only fuel bigotry and hatred. Rep. King's broad generalizations create the misconception that most Muslims Americans are terrorists or terrorist sympathizers. As a matter of fact, the terrorists are a tiny minority within the Muslim world community. We must bear in mind that none of the 911 terrorists were Americans. An entire religion should not be put on trial because of the actions of a few heinous murderers.

Second, the hearings will discourage many Muslims from cooperating with law enforcements thereby making us all less safe. Instead of perpetuating fear and suspicion, the government should look for ways to build bridges of communication and trust with the Muslim American community.

Third, the federal government has more far important things to do. Instead of wasting the American people's time and money demonizing Muslims and fear mongering, Congress should focus on issues that really matter to the American people like unemployment, poverty, the war in Afghanistan, etc.

Finally, the hearings will pave the way for the harassment and persecution of other groups. During the McCarthy era, it was the communists. Today, it is Islam and Muslims. Tomorrow, it could be Jews, Catholics, Protestants, Buddhists or your particular religious or ethnic group.