The
Muslim community in America perceives planned congressional hearings against the
so-called Muslim radicalization as the demonization of the Islamic faith, says
Zead Ramadan Head of the New York-based Council on American-Islamic Relations
(CAIR).
This
comes as FBI records show that in the last 25 years, "Muslim Americans account
for six percent of all terrorism in America, Jews seven percent and Latinos 41
percent," Ramadan told Press TV's U.S. Desk in a Sunday interview.
His
comments come just days before the congressional hearings spearheaded by Long
Island Republican Congressman Peter King, chairman of the Homeland Security
Committee, who has been the target of two protests on Sunday (March 6)
afternoon.
"So
if you are to follow those statistics, then he (Rep. Peter King) is spending our
tax dollars in Congress to only investigate six percent of crimes, leaving 94
percent of terrorist acts unaddressed," CAIR chief added.
"So
we think it's very unfair for him to pick on our religion. We think it would be
very responsible for him as the Homeland Security chair to investigate extremism
across the board," Ramadan went on to say.
He
concluded that Peter King has had a history of discriminations against
Muslims.
In
the United States, 73 percent of young people aged 18 to 29 say Muslims are the
most discriminated against. Washingtontimes.com Although
Muslims make up around 2 percent of the U.S. population, they account for about
one-quarter of the 3,386 religious discrimination claims filed with the U.S.
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in 2010. Startribune.Com Forty-six
U.S. states do not ban racial profiling based on religion or religious
appearance. Amnestyusa.org In
fall of 2010, opponents of a mosque planned for Murfreesboro, Tenn., tried
unsuccessfully in court to claim that Islam was not a religion entitled to
constitutional protections. Americangrace.org Robert
Putnam and David Campbell, authors of American Grace, a book on U.S. religious
diversity, found that among all the faith groups, "Muslims were a stand out for
unpopularity." USAToday Civil
liberties groups say U.S. border officials are violating the constitutional
rights of American Muslims by asking about their religious beliefs and practices
on their return from trips abroad. Voanews It
alleges that the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency, or CBP, has been
questioning Muslims or people that appear to be Muslim about their religious and
political beliefs, associations and activities. These
findings come at a time when a comprehensive examination on religion and public
life shows that the number of U.S. Muslims will more than double in the next 20
years. Pewforum RG/SM/DB