U.S. Rep. Peter King (R-NY), House Homeland Security Committee Chairman, is scheduled to oversee congressional hearings beginning this week on "the radicalization of American Muslims." Kudos to King for having the courage to convene these hearings despite being accused of unfairly targeting Islam.
As you might expect, hundreds of protesters gathered in the wind-driven rain yesterday on the streets of New York City to protest the hearings. They even had a guest speaker, and I'll bet that even if you weren't aware of the rally, you could make an educated guess as to who the speaker was. It was none other than Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, the cleric defending construction of a mosque near Ground Zero. Needless to say, he proclaimed over and over again that Islam is not the enemy. Rather, it's extremism.
We hear this argument time and time again from the Muslim community and those who defend Muslims in this on-going battle. "We're not your enemy. Stop targeting us unfairly. Go after the extremists, not us."
But the argument is invalid as far as I'm concerned. If they were undeniably on our side, fighting the battle with us, cooperating with authorities, and publicly denouncing Muslim extremism, then radical Islam would cease to exist. Instead, they take to the streets and complain about being "unfairly targeted." What they're really saying is, "Leave us alone and go fight your own battles."
Rooting out Al-Qaeda and the Taliban has been an exercise in frustration because of the lack of cooperation we receive from the so-called "moderate Muslims" in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Even the countries of the Middle East who pretend to be our allies (e.g., Saudi Arabia) funnel money to terrorists through underground channels.
Of course, the Obama administration felt the need to launch a pre-emptive strike by sending Deputy National Security Adviser Denis McDonough to give a speech at a Muslim community center in Virginia over the weekend. "We have a choice," McDonough said. "We can choose to send a message to certain Americans that they are somehow 'less American' because of their faith or how they look; that we see their entire community as a potential threat ... Or, we can make another choice. We can send the message that we're all Americans."
If American Muslims were more cooperative in fighting the extremism at their own mosques, if their imams issued decrees against terrorists instead of protesting against our own government for holding hearings on radical Islam, then I might buy into Mr. McDonough's argument. Until then, I refuse to do so.
Investigating radical Islam has been likened to investigating the Italian Mafia or the Russian Mob. I don't remember Italian-Americans (like myself) protesting against our government for wiring pizzerias and Italian restaurants that they suspected as being fronts for Mafia operations. Do you see any Russians protesting about the way our law enforcement authorities investigate the Russian Mob? Moreover, several popes have issued official statements decrying the activities of the Mafia and calling for the Italian government to root it out once and for all. Where are all the imams taking a similar stand against Muslim extremism? They're nowhere to be found.
Muslims will say that not all terrorist acts are committed by Muslims, and they will continually point to Timothy McVeigh as their prime example. But I am sick of hearing the McVeigh argument, because it is absolutely, unequivocally, one-hundred percent wrong.
When he carried out the Oklahoma City bombing, McVeigh operated as a lone wolf, not as a part of an intricate, widespread terror network. There's a very good reason for that. Because no such network exists in Christianity, or Buddhism, or Hinduism, or any other organized religion. Only Islam has a network of terrorists that extends from the Middle East to northern Africa to Somalia to Afghanistan and Pakistan to Indonesia to the Philippines to several sleeper cells in Europe and North America.
To say that congressional hearings on the radicalization of American Muslims is unjust is to ignore reality. Targeting Islam is not religious discrimination. Rather, it is rational, prudent, and necessary given the fact that only Islam has such a vast terror network that carries out heinous, murderous acts against innocents.
The real question we should be asking is, "Why are the so-called moderate Muslims not being more helpful to America in the battle against extremism?" Though no one in our government will come out and say it, I think the answer is pretty clear.
Muslims have come to America in the interest of escaping their oppressive regimes, earning wealth, and spreading Islam. The majority of them have no interest in becoming true Americans and adopting the Western way of life for the simple reason that they HATE America. They use our country and the freedom it provides them to meet their objectives, whatever they may be. But they despise our country for "occupying" their lands and consistently giving Israel our undying support.
How many times have we had to veto a U.N. resolution that looks to punish or at least condemn Israel? The paper tiger we refer to as the United Nations is obviously more concerned with Israel building apartments than with Iran building nuclear weapons. But let's face it. We're outnumbered on the global stage in fighting this battle, and without our help, Israel would have no chance.
And so the Muslims view our country as the one roadblock to destroying Israel once and for all. If we stood back and let them do it, then the Muslims would jump at the chance to annihilate the Israeli people. But we don't, and even with a president who seems more sympathetic toward Muslims than all of his predecessors combined, we won't. Thus Muslims continue to view the United States as their mortal enemy, and I don't see how that can ever change.
King's hearings are a step in the right direction to dealing with the problem of Muslim extremism. But we're a long ways away from winning this conflict, which is more ideological than anything else. In fact, I don't know that we can ever win it except maybe in our own country. Muslims the world over will hate America as long as we back Israel. But we can prevent that from happening here if we set aside the politically correct nonsense and do what needs to be done. Call radical Islam what it is: radical Islam. Call Muslim terrorists what they are: Muslim terrorists. Identify your enemies. That's the first step, and it's a step that the Obama administration is regrettably unwilling to take.
And so we can only count on our Republican leaders in the House to confront the problem head on. I know that they will do what needs to be done in order to ensure the safety of our citizens from acts of terrorism. But as Speaker Boehner has said time and again, they only control one-half of one-third of the U.S. government. Unless that changes in 2012, we won't be able to go much further than the hearings that will take place this week.
To those American Muslims who would disagree with my views expressed in this blog, I challenge you to prove me wrong. Show us that you are serious about fighting extremism. Stand with us. Have your imams speak out against Al Qaeda and the terrorist attacks they carry out. Cooperate with our authorities as we investigate your mosques. Show us that you have nothing to hide. Stop protesting in the streets and start doing your part to make sure our country is secure. If you don't, then you've already proven me right in my assertions.
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