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March 8, 2011

Hearings on Muslim Radicalization Decried as a New McCarthyism 
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In news from Capitol Hill, New York Republican Rep. Peter King is facing
scrutiny over his plans to hold a congressional hearing this week on the
radicalization of the American Muslim community. Critics have described
the hearings as a modern-day form of Mc Carthyism that are designed to
stoke fear against American Muslims. King has refused calls to broaden
the hearing to examine right-wing militias or any non-Muslim groups. On
Sunday, 500 people demonstrated in Times Square in New York City against
the hearing. Democratic Rep. Keith Ellison of Minnesota is scheduled to
testify on Thursday, but he has been one of the hearings' most vocal
critics. In 2006, Ellison became the first Muslim elected to Congress.

Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN): "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."



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