Spring Break came and went. No work was completed, fun was had and regrettable decisions may or may not have been made. But away from all the Bahamian shenanigans and piña coladas, some Americans were taking to the streets.
By now, most of us have heard of the House homeland security committee chairman, U.S. Rep. Peter King of New York, and his possible series of hearings. The first of which, held just this Thursday, was titled “The Extent of Radicalization in the American Muslim Community and that Community’s Response.”
In recent days he’s been vilified and praised. He’s been called the second coming of Joe McCarthy, a bigot, but at the same time a damn good patriot. So which is it?
Even more so, these hearings have a lot to tell us about our own campus interactions.
According to King, Muslim Americans have not become entirely forthcoming in their assistance against the imposing threat of homegrown terrorism.
“Terror” is a word that has dominated American language for the past decade, with good reason. Homegrown Islamic movements are a very real threat, as we have seen through young Minnesotans joining Al-Shabaab and the trend of radicalization in the American prison system.
However, the entire Muslim community cannot be held responsible for these trends.
Now, I’m not Muslim, nor am I any expert on terrorism. But one doesn’t need to be an expert to see that this is just another example of U.S. politicians labeling Muslim Americans as the “others.”
Islam, contrary to popular belief, has been on American soil since the country’s inception, brought over as a result of the growing slave trade in the New World. And yet U.S. officials continue to treat Islam as a 21st-century introduction.
