Peter King Radicalization Hearings: Another Barrel of Monkeys?

Peter King Radicalization Hearings: Another Barrel of Monkeys?

Politico featured a story this week headlined “Muslim groups nervous about King hearings.” It went on to discuss Muslim apprehension regarding upcoming congressional hearings led by Rep. Peter King, R-NY, “on the threat posed by radical Islam in America.”

That phrase — “radical Islam” — is truly a marvel: a 14-karat, bulletproof, titanium shield for Islam itself, which, sorry guys and gals, is the source of all things we deem “radical” in Islam. “Islam is Islam and that’s it,” as Turkey’s Erdogan so memorably put it. But since we don’t want Islam to be “it,” we pretend and operate and make policy and even war based on some mythic radicalism of “twisted” or “hijacked” or “perverted” Islam.

If these King hearings turn out to be about the threat posed by “radical Islam” — and not about the threat posed by what is radical about Islam — “nervous” Muslim groups have nothing to worry about, and anti-jihad, anti-Shariah citizens have nothing to gain.

Hope I’m wrong, but it looks like any rational analysis of jihad or of Shariah is already off the table. Politico writes: “In a move that will come as a relief to Muslim leaders, King told Politico that he’s not planning to call as witnesses such Muslim community critics as the Investigative Project on Terrorism’s Steve Emerson and Jihad Watch’s Robert Spencer, who have large followings among conservatives but are viewed as antagonists by many Muslims.”

Let’s break this revelation down. It may be smoothly packaged, but it is utterly mind-boggling.

Read the rest here.