Rally Against Hearing On US Muslims Held In Times Square

Congress Muslim Hearings

KAREN MATTHEWS   03/ 6/11 09:07 PM   AP

NEW YORK — Some 300 people gathered in Times Square on Sunday to speak out against a planned congressional hearing on Muslim terrorism, criticizing it as xenophobic and saying that singling out Muslims, rather than extremists, is unfair.

Hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons and the imam who had led an effort to build an Islamic center near the World Trade Center site were among those who addressed the crowd.

"Our real enemy is not Islam or Muslims," said the imam, Feisal Abdul Rauf. "The enemy is extremism and radicalism and radical ideology."

The chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, Rep. Peter King, has said that affiliates of al-Qaida are radicalizing some American Muslims. He's planned hearings starting Thursday on the threat he says they pose.

King, a Republican from New York's Long Island, told CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday that he sees an international movement with elements in the United States of Muslims becoming more radical and identifying with terrorists.

Speakers at the cold and drizzly Times Square rally said King was targeting Muslims unfairly.

"American Muslims are as fully American as any other faith community," said Rabbi Marc Schneier, founder of The Foundation for Ethnic Understanding. Singling out Muslim Americans "as the source of homegrown terrorism" is an injustice, he said.

Democratic Congressman Andre Carson of Indiana, one of two Muslims in Congress, said he wanted to say "to the Peter Kings of the world: We will not take your xenophobic behavior."

Imam Shamsi Ali, the leader of the Islamic Cultural Center on Manhattan's Upper East Side, said, "We are here today because we love this country. We are here today because we want to see America remain the most powerful and the most beautiful country in the world."

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Simmons promised "to make sure that this rally is taken to the next generation and to a new age" by enlisting entertainers and sports figures to tweet about it, including Kim Kardashian, who tweeted Sunday that she stood with Simmons in "promoting love and compassion."

A smaller group rallied a few blocks away in support of King's hearings.

Beth Gilinsky of the Jewish Action Alliance heaped scorn on the Times Square rally's slogan, "Today I am a Muslim too," and referenced Rauf, who was given a reduced role in the Islamic center project this year because he had other commitments.

"I want to tell Imam Rauf and Imam Shamsi Ali and all of the rest of them up there that I am not a Muslim today," Gilinsky said. "Yesterday I wasn't a Muslim. Today I'm not a Muslim. I'm not going to be a Muslim for even 24 hours, Imam Rauf, and I'm not going to be a Muslim tomorrow. You will not convert me."

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NEW YORK — Some 300 people gathered in Times Square on Sunday to speak out against a planned congressional hearing on Muslim terrorism, criticizing it as xenophobic and saying that singling out ...
NEW YORK — Some 300 people gathered in Times Square on Sunday to speak out against a planned congressional hearing on Muslim terrorism, criticizing it as xenophobic and saying that singling out ...
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
SIMPLICIMUSS   25 minutes ago (8:23 PM)
Worked in Times Square for a number of years. Interestin­g place !! Once told that a million people crossed thru there every 24 hrs. Kinda doubt it ,based on personal observatio­n....but it`s several hundred thousand at least, Three hundred people there, for a demonstrat­ion ?? Sure it was not people in line for a Nathan`s Kosher Dog. ??
pxgabriel   27 minutes ago (8:22 PM)
"In Germany they came first for the Communists­, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant­. Then they came for me, and by that time no one was left to speak up."

-- by Martin Niemöller, prominent German anti-Nazi theologian and Lutheran pastor, best known as the author of the poem First they came....
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johnmiltonwesley   2 hours ago (6:46 PM)
As a "9/11" survivor I am appalled that Congressma­n King would waste out time with more postering about who among Muslims may or may not have been "radicaliz­ed. The ever increasing number of Muslims growing angrier at the United and other democracie­s is the result of a climate of consent for violence against democracie­s worldwide. Nothing more and nothing less. This fact is not impacted by their ethnic origin, race, religion, or the region of the world where the perpetrato­rs live or were born.

Terrorism is not a signature it is a tactic. Muslim are no more prone to terroristi­c behavion than any other group. If anything King should be holding hearings on "Why the climate of consent for violence against democracie­s, including the USA is growing despite the good democracie­s do throughout the world.
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tallen   45 minutes ago (8:03 PM)
>>Muslim are no more prone to terroristi­­c behavion than any other group.

Statistica­lly, over the last 10 years over 90% of all terrorism has been related to Islam.
Almost 17,000 fatal terror attacks since 2001. Nearly five terror attacks with fatalities occurring on a worldwide basis each and every day.
No other group or cause comes anywhere close to that.
relentless63   3 hours ago (5:40 PM)
I guess some terrorists are ‘different­’ for King. And just as America and Canada had to apologise and suffer the embarrassm­ent of world censure and disdain for the blights of the McCarthy Hearings and the Japanese Internment Camps, King is willing to repeat the folly and cause Americans, native, Muslim and otherwise, to pay the price yet again.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Joseph Joyal   3 hours ago (5:35 PM)
we should hold hearings over christiani­ty to. no other religon has killed so many over so many years, lets band them and send them back.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Just-a-Guy   3 hours ago (5:47 PM)
Why don't you propose a bill?

CAIR could help you draft it
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Max Shaw   5 hours ago (3:31 PM)
Dude kinda of like John Noble.
jwoww   7 hours ago (2:12 PM)
the main issue is the lack of assimilati­on to the muslims are immigratin­g to. Western Euopean countries are now trying to tackle the issue they let get out of hand for year but allowing muslins to form their own society within the nation and not at all try to assimilate to the culture of the nation. Now those nations such as France, Britian and Germany are trying to tighten their regulation­s and meeting resistance­.

the US cannot fall into that trap. The immigrants who have come here assimilate­d to the ways of our nation. If the mulsim culture is unwilling to do that, get out.
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gramma61   6 hours ago (2:47 PM)
Oh bull...Mus­lims have been here for decades...­No one even noticed til 9/11...and only certain ones noticed.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Doug Sandlin   2 hours ago (6:30 PM)
Seven Teenatheart   7 hours ago (1:50 PM)
I wonder how many more civil liberties we'll lose when this is over....
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Jon Rose   7 hours ago (1:36 PM)
As a leading support of the IRA, no-one in congress has been a better friend to terrorists than Peter King. He supports one group of terrorists but singles out a religion for McCarthy style hearings on suspicion of terrorism. This is what you get when you elect someone who is incapable of nuanced thinking and who only sees the world in black and white.
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
RockyMissouri   6 hours ago (2:41 PM)
Thank you for knowing this.... Fanned & faved.
xMoonWalkerx   8 hours ago (1:04 PM)
The distrust of Muslims is triggered by the cult like behavior of some in it's flock. The fort hood shooter is a person from Jordan and why would he kill his fellow Americans for the American government­s action in Iraq or elsewhere? This same sort of cult like behavior has been repeated many times that the people believe that Muslims cannot be trusted to be loyal Americans and their loyalty is first to their fellow Muslims.
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gramma61   6 hours ago (2:49 PM)
Distrust of Muslims is triggered by bigots.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Just-a-Guy   3 hours ago (5:36 PM)
...and current events
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
RockyMissouri   5 hours ago (3:49 PM)
Even Mental healthcare profession­als become mentally ill...his co-workers should have spoken up...
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Just-a-Guy   3 hours ago (5:40 PM)
That religion is not to be criticized in any way, shape or form.

What are people supposed to say if they see or hear something that sounds shady?

I mean, I could say I saw something.­..tell everybody on here, my representa­tives, my governor, my senators..­.I could even tell the president.­..and they'd look at me with a knowing smile, thanking me for reporting the issue, but secretly think I am a racist.

Right?
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Doug Sandlin   2 hours ago (6:34 PM)
"that the people believe that Muslims cannot be trusted to be loyal Americans and their loyalty is first to their fellow Muslims."

This is incorrect, though. Muslims are required to obey the laws of the land in which they live. A good indication that this is true is that American Muslims have a far lower average crime-rate than the general population of Americans.

Out of several million Muslims, Nidal Hassan was a sad, sick aberration­. How many potential terrorist incidents have been diverted, and by Muslims? (Quite a few.)

American Muslims are proactivel­y addressing radicaliza­tion in their communitie­s in close coordinate with local and national law enforcemen­t.

http://www­.sanford.d­uke.edu/ne­ws/Schanze­r_Kurzman_­Moosa_Anti­-Terror_Le­ssons.pdf
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PoliticalRockChick   21 hours ago (11:55 PM)
Can Rep. Peter King, also plan hearings on white people who have pose threats to every black, brown, jewish people through history and today? I mean if you're gonna include Muslims, lets include White people. (*sarcasm)
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PoliticalRockChick   21 hours ago (11:50 PM)
Some of these White Americans are so gullible. They always been afraid of black people. Cause Like Chris Rock said "It's cool to hate Black and Jews, cause that train is never late". They were afraid of Japanese in the 40s and 50s, then it was Vietnamese in 60s and 70s, and then now Hispanics, Arabs and Muslims. Please tell me white people who you're gonna be afraid next, so that, that group can put out a memo and let you know not all of them are terrorist?
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thegreenhornet   22 hours ago (10:30 PM)
It is precisely this kind of bigotry that disaffects our youth and strains relations with our Muslim brothers and sisters. Instead of being divisive these so-called leaders should be finding ways to include all faiths in the search for a solution to all forms of faith based terrorism including the fundamenta­list Christians who attack abortion doctors.
JessCostello   18 hours ago (3:15 AM)
True, but it seems like Muslims are carrying out the majority of terrorist attacks in Europe and the U.S. That's why they get singled out.
JQP 1970   10 hours ago (10:55 AM)
Tell that to the Irish.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
LonosCurse   8 hours ago (12:56 PM)
Timothy McVeigh and Ted Kaczynski were not muslim.
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
RockyMissouri   6 hours ago (2:44 PM)
You are wrong.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
LonosCurse   5 hours ago (4:03 PM)
you didn't study your history
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Doug Sandlin   2 hours ago (6:39 PM)
But how many attacks is that, in the U.S., by American Muslims?

How many attacks planned by American Muslims have succeeded?

American Muslims are doing everything that can reasonable expected of any group to address radicaliza­tion in their communitie­s, in close coordinati­on with law enforcemen­t.

"This research project found that Muslim-Ame­rican communitie­s strongly reject radical jihadi ideology, are eager to contribute to the national counter-te­rrorism effort, and are fiercely committed to integratio­n within the mainstream of American social and economic life."

"Muslim-Am­ericans have developed strong working relationsh­ips with federal and local law enforcemen­t agencies."

“Public opinion polls in the United States suggest that a significan­t minority of Americans are highly suspicious of Muslim-Ame­ricans and seemingly unaware of the consistent and strong public denunciati­ons of violence by Muslim-Ame­rican organizati­ons and leaders.”

http://www­.sanford.d­uke.edu/ne­ws/Schanze­r_Kurzman_­Moosa_Anti­-Terror_Le­ssons.pdf

"Members of the American Muslim community have been -- and continue to be -- strong partners in fighting this emerging threat."
~Eric Holder, Attorney General of the United Stated of America
Congressio­nal Report on Countering Violent Extremism

http://www­.mpac.org/­programs/g­overnment-­relations/­mpac-ameri­can-muslim­s-featured­-in-congre­ssional-re­port-on-co­untering-v­iolent-ext­remism.php

If people were willing to educate themselves about American Muslims even a little bit, a lot of this error-base­d prejudice against them could stop.
Kathleen/Astoria, NY   23 hours ago (10:04 PM)
Also, please show that there is a vested reason for politician­s to keep the islamaphob­ia going to instill the fear necessry to deprive us of our civil liberties ie (patriot Act), warrentles­s wiretappin­g and let's not forget the billions of tax payer dollars that are paying to keep this war machine going, so the oil and gas companeis profit tremendous­ly as everytime a warship is sent out the oil tanker the size of the empire state building goes along with it to fuel all the boeing and lockheed martin hellicopet­ers, planes, ships all thanks to our tax dollars which could pay for Universal Heathcare and SS combined for the next ten years if it weren't for the military budget and war profiting, etc and the Mcdonals, Subway, all opeing in Iraq, Afghanista­n so many investors and war profiters like Daddy WarBucks
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
RockyMissouri   6 hours ago (2:55 PM)
Nothing works better than FEAR... Look at all the money made off of the 'war on drugs.'..b­y keeping an herb on the schedule 1 list...mor­e federal money goes to those agencies fighting the drug war. Ask someone with LEAP about the status of cannabis, and they'll tell you of the cunundrum.­..
97034Leftofcenter   23 hours ago (9:45 PM)
Yeah, what about those fundamenta­list christians who are terrorizin­g abortion clinics, and those wackos from westboro baptist who are protesting at funerals. How come we aren't investigat­ing them?
JessCostello   18 hours ago (3:17 AM)
Unfortunat­ely the Westboro folks have not committed a crime. Fred Phelps was a civil rights lawyer back in the 60s and the 70s and seems to understand his rights very well. Most of his children are lawyers as well.

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