‘Radicalization’ hearings worry U.S. Muslims
Mass protests against planned mosques in New York City and
Tennessee. An Oklahoma referendum to ban Islamic law. A media circus
around a Florida pastor's threat to burn Qur'ans. An upsurge in
homegrown Islamic terrorists. Two U.S.-led wars in predominantly Muslim
countries.
The Muslim Public Affairs Council had no shortage of
topics to discuss at its annual convention in Los Angeles. But the
prospect of congressional hearings on the "radicalization of the
American Muslim community" topped the list.
"There were so many
different responses to it," said Salam al-Marayati, the council's
president, "starting with disbelief that this is happening now."
