Dallas,
Texas, July 7, 2015 -- In a Radio
address, Congressman Peter King called on fellow Americans to do this, "During
the July 4th holidays, if you find any gathering of Americans by the
pool, lake, park, or downtown, call up the police." I am appalled with such an
irresponsible statement.
What if an innocent Sikh family is visiting New York and taking pictures? What if it is a Hispanic family? What if a Christian Lebanese or even Brigitte Gabriel is videotaping the parade? Could it be a Jewish family from Israel with an accent visiting the park to see what is going on? Is this racism in disguise? This is not a Muslim issue, this is an American issue.
His exact words are, "... To a large extent, to the Muslim community in this region, because there is a threat, there is going to be something happening, it's going to come from the Muslim community. So they among all others should, should they see something, if they see someone who is new to the neighborhood, who don't belong there or its unusual for him to be there, if they hear of any talk of anything happening, if they see different groups, gathering, tell the police"."
Thank God he fell flat on his face, as he did that once before, when he investigated Mosques in New York and did not find any material evidence. Indeed, most of the arrests of suspects by the FBI in recent years have been reported by American Muslims.
We want Representative King to know this clearly -- American Muslims are heck of a lot more loyal to America than the average Joe. The freedom they cherish must be praised and appreciated. They have suffered more from the terrorists than any other group. In fact, they get it both ways -- accusation for the acts they did not commit, and the brunt of the hate mongering that such irresponsible statements create. To know more about American Muslims, we urge Rep. Peter King to read our press release in Op-ed News entitled " Muslims and Americans: a shared heritage since July 4, 1776. "
Representative King has violated two principles -- innocent until proven guilty
and pitting one American against the other.
Of course, it is the duty of all citizens to maintain
law and order and protect the homeland. Hate is one of the many things that disrupt the peace in society and it is our duty to track down the source
of such hate and work hard to mitigate it. Congressman Peter King, knowingly
or unknowingly, appears to have become a source of racism and hate speech.
We appeal to his civility as a good American and an elected official to
apologize.
This is an American issue and we need
to put an end to this kind of rhetoric from elected
officials. My safety and security hinges on ensuring the same for
others around me. No American needs to live in apprehension or
fear of the other. An apology by Rep. Peter King is the right thing to do in
order to promote civic and racial harmony in America.
Mike is president of America Together Foundation; he is a speaker, thinker,
writer, pluralist, TV-Radio commentator and a human rights activist committed
to building cohesive societies and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of
the day. His info in 63 links at MikeGhouse.net and writings at TheGhouseDiary.com