Rep. Peter King: Police Should Target Muslims Because They’re Responsible For 90% Of Terrorism

Eli Clifton

Posted Jun 22, 2012      •Permalink      • Printer-Friendly Version
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Rep. Peter King: Police Should Target Muslims Because They’re Responsible For 90% Of Terrorism

by Eli Clifton


Rep. Peter King (R-NY) has a long history of demonizing American Muslims. So it’s no great surprise that his hearing earlier this week on the radicalization of Muslims fell under attack as both a waste of time — Rep. Hansen Clarke (D-MI) commented that his time would be better spent discussing how to protect water resources for his constituents — and yet another example of King congratulating himself for his previous hearings attacking Muslims. But appearing on Fox News yesterday, King continued his factually challenged attack on Muslim Americans:

What I am very concerned about is that while the overwhelming majority of Muslims are good people, the fact is even though Muslims are 1 percent of the population, almost 90 percent of the terrorist crimes are carried out by the Muslim community. And there are not enough people in the community willing to step forward and speak out against this and cooperate with law enforcement.

Watch it:

While the scope of King’s assertion is unclear, the reality is that a small percentage of terrorist attacks and plots in the U.S. are the result of Islamic extremism — 56 percent have been perpetrated by right-wing extremists, 30 percent by ecoterrorists and 12 percent by Islamic extremists:

And King’s claim that Muslims are simply unwilling to pushback against extremism appears to be refuted by recent reports of aspiring Muslims terrorists finding difficulty in raising funds in New York. Last year, a Gallup poll found that Muslim Americans are more likely (89 percent) to reject violence than any other U.S. religious group and nearly all Muslim Americans (92 percent) have no sympathy for al-Qaeda.

King also claimed that “it’s so important that the NYPD focus on [the Muslim community]. That’s why it’s important that the NYPD and law enforcement not give into political correctness.” But that claim ignores the FBI’s concerns about the NYPD’s surveillance of Muslim businesses, Mosques and student groups in New York and New Jersey.

FBI Newark Special Agent in Charge Michael Ward complained in March that the NYPD’s spying was making the FBI’s job harder, telling reporters, “It’s starting to have a negative impact. When people pull back cooperation it creates additional risks. It creates blind spots. It hinders our ability to have our finger on the pulse of what’s going on around the state.”

Surprisingly, as House Homeland Security Chairman, King appears to absorb little information from the FBI, the National Counterterrorism Center, and the Department of Homeland Security.


SOURCE:  Think Progress


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TAM EDITOR RECOMMENDS FURTHER READING:

TAM articles:  The American Muslim Community and Rep. Peter King’s “Islamic” Radicalization Hearings which has a great deal of background on Peter King and these hearings, which includes an extensive article collection.  We also have a series of articles breaking down various aspects of the hearings.
-   Peter King’s Hearing: What Was the Point? discussing the content of the hearings, with a collection of articles written after the hearing ended. 
Peter King’s Civics Lesson for American Muslims which has a collection of anti-Muslim statements by elected representatives and government officials made during and before the hearings.  
Existing reports and studies on radicalization in the American Muslim Community and Polls, Surveys, and Statistics Relating to Islam and Muslims  with actual hard evidence so lacking in the hearing.  
Response of Civic Organizations and Interfaith Community to “Muslim Radicalization” Hearings  
Elected Representatives & Government Officials Who HAVE Questioned Islamophobia with quotes from elected representives and government officials attempting to counter the bias of this hearing both during and before the hearing.  
- Peter King’s hearing: witness testimonies - allegations but no facts
- Peter King’s Fourth Hearing Targets Muslims in the Military - Zuhdi Jasser and AIFD - Identified by Rep. King as the Ideal American Muslim Leadership
- Does Rep. King’s IRA/Terrorist Connection Matter?
Answers to Peter King’s Claims About the American Muslim Community which lays out all of his claims and allegations and provides detailed answers to each.  (e.g. Do Muslims cooperate with law enforcement?  Do Muslims speak out against terrorism and extremism?  Are most Muslims terrorists?  Are 80 to 85% of mosques run by radicals?  Have American Muslim organizations responded to the issue of radicalization?  Are mosques the source of radicalization?  etc.)
- How Reliable Were Rep. King’s Muslim Witnesses? - Rep. Peter King Plans 5th Hearing With “Astroturf” Muslim Witnesses - The scope of Rep. Kings Hearings Creates Homeland “in"Security
- National Faith Leaders to Protest Anti-Muslim Hearings  -  Rep. Peter King’s Muslim Phobia - Claim that all terrorists are Muslims ignores history - The NYPD, the CIA, and “The Third Jihad” - Islamophobia no longer questioned - even by our elected representatives - GOP Anti-Muslim Limbo:  They’ve Lowered the Bar Again!The GOP Anti-Muslim Limbo:  How Low Can They Go? - White House Releases “New” Counter-terrorism Strategy:  Empowering Local Partners to Prevent Violent Extremism in the United StatesWhere is the U.S. Government Getting It’s Information on Islam and Muslims?
All of these articles will be updated as further information comes in, and there will be more articles in this series.

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