White House Warns Against Islamophobia
Politico reports:
As a House committee prepares to turn the spotlight on Al Qaeda’s efforts to radicalize Muslims in America, the White House issued a public plea Sunday to focus on the American Muslim community’s support for anti-terrorism efforts and to avoid stigmatizing law-abiding followers of Islam.
“We must resolve that, in our determination to protect our nation, we will not stigmatize or demonize entire communities because of the actions of a few,” Deputy National Security Adviser Denis McDonough told a crowd gathered in a gymnasium and prayer room at a mosque in northern Virginia.
“In the United States of America, we don’t practice guilt by association. And let’s remember that just as violence and extremism are not unique to any one faith, the responsibility to oppose ignorance and violence rests with each of us. “
The hearings, set to begin Thursday at the call of House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Peter King (R-N.Y.), have caused widespread concern among Muslim civil rights groups, civil liberties organizations and interfaith groups — many of whom have urged King to broaden the focus of the hearings beyond Muslims to include environmental terrorists and neo-Nazi groups. He has declined, saying those threats simply aren’t on a par with Al-Qaeda-inspired radical Islam.
Some of McDonough’s speech to the largely Muslim audience of about 150 at the All Dulles Area Muslim Society seemed to underscore the complaints of critics who claim King is singling out Muslims for criticism.
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