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In an appearance on CNN's State of the Union" Sunday, Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.), chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, defended his plan to hold hearings on radical Islam next week. Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), a practicing Muslim who plans to testify at the hearings, also joined King....   >>>

In an appearance on CNN's State of the Union" Sunday, Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.), chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, defended his plan to hold hearings on radical Islam next week. Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), a practicing Muslim who plans to testify at the hearings, also joined King.



Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress, said he agreed with holding the hearings, but that the scope was too narrow. "It's absolutely the right thing to do for the chairman of the Homeland Security Committee to investigate radicalization. But to say we're going to investigate a -- a religious minority, and a particular one, I think is the wrong course of action to take," he said.



King defended against the charge, saying that other, smaller groups did not pose as grave a threat. "Eric Holder is not saying he's staying awake at night because of what's coming from anti-abortion demonstrators or coming from environmental extremists or from Neo-Nazis. It's the radicalization right now in the Muslim community," King said.



Asked why he would participate in the hearings Ellison said, "I believe in engaging the process. I think you've got to be involved in the conversation; you've got to offer an alternative view. And I do plan on saying that I challenge the basic premise of the hearings -- that I do agree that we should deal with radicalization and violent radicalization, but that singling out one community is the wrong thing to do."



"We're talking about a radicalization in this country which is linked to an overseas enemy. This is al Qaeda -- internationally is attempting to recruit within the United States," King said, when asked why he was not holding hearings on the Tucson shootings in January, which left his colleague Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) with a bullet wound to the head. "It's an international movement with elements here in the United States, and to me, that's a real distinction," he said.



**This excerpt is taken from the Washington Post's article, " Rep. Peter King defends hearings on radical Islam: 'Let people watch the hearing and decide then'" written by Emi Kolawole and linked below. Do click through to read more about this controversial and complex issue. The image is from flickr user isafmedia | http://www.flickr.com/photos/isafmedia/ **