Respone in Dallas Morning News

We all should be concerned about the hearings and hope and pray that Mr. King would be honest, sincere and fair, although his record is marred with bigotry. We hope he will not destroy the fabric of our society and pit one American against the other.

 

Acknowledging that “some of our own” are a security threat to our nation is the right thing to do. We should have done it ourselves, since we did not, we have to accept the bad choice of Mr. King.

I welcome the hearings, Muslims have nothing to fear and nothing to worry, let the man fall flat on his face “if” he resorts to untruths. What if he turns out to be honest and finds guys like Shehzad? Then we owe him gratitude, not just Muslims but the whole nation.

Just as we produced the Quraan conference in Dallas to evaporate the lies the right wingers had propagated, this will perhaps become the first nail in their coffin and hope they will stop pitting one American against the other to have political gains.

If nothing else comes from the hearings, one thing is for sure. Muslims are not a monolithic lot and they are no different than any of the 301 million of us. Each one of has a different thumb print, eye print, DNA, different sizes, shapes and colors, political affiliations, so be it with faiths or no faiths.  That is God’s universe.

I welcome hearings on Islam

Letter format published in Dallas Morning News

http://letterstotheeditorblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2011/03/i-welcome-heari.html

 

I welcome the initiative by U.S. Rep. Peter King, chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, to hold hearings on Islamic radicalism.

It is our duty to keep law and order and faithfully guard the safety of every citizen. Hate is one of the many sources of disrupting peace in a society, and it is our responsibility to seek the source of such hate and work to mitigate and find lasting solutions.

Indeed, the last few attempts to mess with our nation's security have come from men flaunting the Muslim label, and, as Muslim Americans, it becomes our individual and collective responsibility to participate in ensuring the safety of every American.

We have to identify the criminals who are individually accountable for their actions and need to punish them expediently according to the law.

As a civil society, we must also resist the temptation to blame their family, nation and religion and not legitimize their attempts to hide under a religious label for their evil acts.

Phrases such as "Islamic radicalism" are oxymoron and must be avoided to uphold our civility. 

Mike Ghouse

President, World Muslim Congress