Rep. Peter King has been losing the public-relations war over his Muslim HUAC hearings planned for March -- his inflammatory and inaccurate comments about Islam conveying the perception that the hearings will be filled with blanket accusations of disloyalty directed at American Muslims. In National Review, he tries somewhat to make nice (via Alex Pareene):
“Look, when I meet with Muslim leaders, people who are successful in their community, it is clear that there is no support for al-Qaeda. I don't sense that at all.” King says. “What I do sense is that they feel like they are under siege.” That fear, he says, is natural, but unfortunate. “If they did speak out, it would make them a much more positive force.”
It wasn't that long ago that King was repeating the entirely fabricated statistic that 80 percent of American mosques are radicalized. Now he's saying it's "clear there's no support for al-Qaeda." He wants Muslims to "speak out," but when Muslims do condemn terrorism, they're generally ignored. King again repeats the notion that the Muslim community doesn't "cooperate" when it comes to terrorism, a view belied by statistics and one he's only substantiated by quoting anonymous "law enforcement officials." He adds that he hopes they will spur law enforcement to be less "politically correct," without any actual evidence that's a problem.
Meanwhile, King updates his witness list:
Better cooperation, King reasons, will be encouraged if the hearings turn down the volume and clear the air. For now, Walid Phares, a Beirut-born professor, and Dr. Zuhdi Jasser, an Arizona physician and military veteran, are slated to appear. Rep. Keith Ellison (D., Minn.), a Muslim, will also participate.
So the witness list now includes Ellison, Jasser, who repeats the same fabricated statistic as King, and Phares, who lends his authority to Islamophobic documentaries built on the same shabby foundations as King's initial arguments for holding the hearings.
Sens. Susan Collins and Joe Lieberman held pretty substantive hearings today on a similar issue. Their panel imbalanced in the sense that it didn't have any representation from the Muslim American or civil libertarian communities, but at least it had policy experts without axes to grind and wasn't just a thinly veiled effort just to make Muslims look bad. King might want to follow their lead.
