GCIS INTELLIGENCE BRIEFING: King's Hearings on Radical Islam Draw Rival Protest Groups

ISSUED BY: GCIS Communications Command Center

SOURCE: WNYC

23February2011 2:50amEST

GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE: About 130 protestors demonstrated in front of Rep. Peter King's office in Massapequa Park on Tuesday, some in support and others against the Long Island politician's proposed Congressional hearings meant to examine the threat of radical Islam in the U.S.

King, who is Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, was recently asked to focus his inquiry on "examine extreme environmentalists and neo-Nazis," but King declined, saying, "the Committee will continue to examine the threat of Islamic radicalization, and I will not allow political correctness to obscure a real and dangerous threat to the safety and security of the citizens of the United States."

"Mr. King's hearings are discriminatory and self-defeating," said one demonstrator, Dr. Shaik Ubaid, of the Muslim Peace Coalition USA. "If Rep. Peter King is sincere about the home-grown terrorist threat, as we all are, including American Muslims, for they have the most to lose, then he must invite the director of the FBI and other top law enforcement agencies. He has not done so."

Ubaid added: "[King] must hold hearings on all terrorist groups including the ones who pose the biggest threat such as the armed militias who, according to news reports, are arming for a war and threatening even the President of the United States. He has not done so."

Some supporters of King argued that if most Muslims are not extremists, they shouldn't be afraid of what the hearings will bring out. Others suggested some important revelations could emerge.

"I’d like to see a solid hearing, where they look throughout the allegations in the American community that there’s a lot of radical Islamists who are ready to take action against this country, whether they be natural born citizens, whether they come from other countries," said Jim Duffy, a member of the Conservative Party of Suffolk County. (read full report)

Additional reading: Peter King's "Radicalization" Hearings – Another Barrel of Monkeys?

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