Guilt by Association: Politically Inspired Fear of Muslims Continues to Infect Politics, Law Enforcement Investigations and Potential Jurors
By: Houston Criminal Lawyer John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
The month of March was saturated with state and national news events which seem to underscore an unfortunate point about Texas and America: we are a society under siege from fear of those we do not understand and, therefore, do not trust. The Ides of March began when New York’s Republican Congressman Rep. Peter King decided to conduct hearings on the threat of “radical Islam” in America. The chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee defended his congressional inquiry into the “role” the “American Muslim community” has played in what’s become known as “homegrown terrorism.”
“There is nothing radical or un-American about holding these hearings,” Rep. King announced to the overflow hearing room filled with journalists and concerned citizens as well as protesters. King conjured up the Fort Hood, Texas shooting rampage by a Muslim soldier and the media-proclaimed “Ft. Dix Six” who had planned a terrorist attack in New Jersey. According to the vocal New York conservative political leader, this was enough evidence to warrant an “investigation” into the role the entire American Muslim community is playing in these kinds of terrorism activities. “This committee cannot live in denial,” Rep. King continued, saying he would not bow to “political correctness” in his determined pursuit of “every Red under the bed” as the legendary Wisconsin Sen. Joseph McCarthy would have said.
A group of 50 Democrats, including two Muslims, had tried before the hearings convened to get Rep. King to cancel them. The Democratic group told King that “singling out one religious group and blaming the actions of individuals on an entire community is not only unfair, it is unwise – and it will not make our country any safer.”
Rep. John D. Dingell (D-Mich.), one of the longest serving members of Congress and whose district includes Dearborn, Michigan, a city where a large Arab-American population resides, was even more direct with his criticism: “They are loyal, honorable Americans, they hold elected office, they have immigrated to our state from all over the United States. They are as much distressed as we are about what’s going on.”
Subscribe
