Events
3/11/11: Reminder about the upcoming SAALT national conference, April 1-4!The SAALT (South Asian Americans Leading Together) national conference will be held in Washington, D.C., from April 1st through 4th. Please register!
3/10/11: A Letter To Rep. Peter King Regarding Hearings on American MuslimsSABA Cleveland formally voices its objection to the Congressional hearings conducted by Rep. Peter King (R-New York), and signs on to the letter sent by SABA-NY:
3/10/11: A Letter To Rep. Peter King Regarding Hearings on American MuslimsSABA Cleveland formally voices its objection to the Congressional hearings conducted by Rep. Peter King (R-New York), and signs on to the letter sent by SABA-NY:
March 9, 2011
The Honorable Peter T. King
Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security
United States House of Representatives
339 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Chairman King:
The South Asian Bar Association of New York (“SABANY”) objects to, and voices its concern over, the Committee on Homeland Security’s (the “Committee”) upcoming hearings focused on the “Extent of Radicalization in the American Muslim Community and that Community’s Response” (the “Hearings”). We strongly urge the Committee to re-consider the Hearings prior to singling out Muslim-Americans as special targets of its investigation into homegrown terrorism.
You are no doubt aware of America’s sordid history of tarring minority communities with suspicions of disloyalty: the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II; the zeal with which Senator McCarthy accused innocent Americans of subversion and espionage in the 1950s; the anti-Catholic sentiment of the early 20th century; and the centuries of outright prejudice against African-Americans. The same sentiment of hate animating these historical blemishes now extends to Muslim-Americans.
To be clear, SABANY does not take issue with the Committee’s right or ability to conduct the Hearings or with the Committee’s necessary and proper task of investigating homegrown terrorism. Nor does SABANY suggest that the Hearings are equivalent in degree to the internment of Japanese-Americans, the McCarthy hearings, or the centuries-long prejudice against African-Americans. However, by narrowly targeting Muslim-Americans, the Committee’s Hearings perpetuate the stereotype that Muslim-Americans, by virtue of practicing Islam, are more likely to commit acts of terrorism As a factual matter, this assertion is belied by the religious backgrounds of the various Americans who have committed heinous acts of terrorism over the past decade. As a legal matter, the Constitution prohibits singling out Americans for heightened scrutiny based upon their faith.
Most importantly, the Committee’s hearings risk propagating the very type of violence they seek to prevent. After all, in the year following September 11, 2001, the FBI reported a 1,600 percent increase in hate crimes against Muslims. As late as 2005, “the numbers of anti-Muslim hate crimes remained five times what they were in 2000.” Just last year, Ahmed Sharif, a Muslim taxi-driver from Queens, New York, was slashed multiple times in a crime motivated by the assailant’s hatred for his religion. Unfortunately, this anti-Muslim rhetoric is not an isolated incident, nor is it unique to New York. Multiple states currently seek to pass bills criminalizing the practice of Islam. Mosques in several states have been the targets of arson. And recently, in Orange County, California, protesters engulfed Muslim-Americans attending a charity event with hateful, threatening, and disparaging speech. Surely, the Committee abhors religiously-motivated violence that targets a minority group of Americans. Yet, its insistence upon holding hearings that tar a minority group with anti-American sentiment legitimizes for many Americans the notion that such violence against Muslim-Americans is acceptable.
Homegrown terrorism is, and must be, of utmost concern to the Committee. However, the Hearings risk turning a proper investigation of terrorism into an unfair demonization of the Muslim-American community. Rather than singling out Muslim-Americans as security threats, the Committee should conduct a broad-based, objective investigation into the causes of homegrown terrorism while simultaneously investigating and seeking to eliminate the ongoing and ever-increasing numbers of hate crimes against Muslim-Americans.
Thank you for your attention to these issues, and we look forward to hearing from you to further discuss them.
Sincerely,
South Asian Bar Association of New York
cc: The Honorable John Boehner
The Honorable Nancy Pelosi
The Honorable Peter T. King
Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security
United States House of Representatives
339 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Chairman King:
The South Asian Bar Association of New York (“SABANY”) objects to, and voices its concern over, the Committee on Homeland Security’s (the “Committee”) upcoming hearings focused on the “Extent of Radicalization in the American Muslim Community and that Community’s Response” (the “Hearings”). We strongly urge the Committee to re-consider the Hearings prior to singling out Muslim-Americans as special targets of its investigation into homegrown terrorism.
You are no doubt aware of America’s sordid history of tarring minority communities with suspicions of disloyalty: the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II; the zeal with which Senator McCarthy accused innocent Americans of subversion and espionage in the 1950s; the anti-Catholic sentiment of the early 20th century; and the centuries of outright prejudice against African-Americans. The same sentiment of hate animating these historical blemishes now extends to Muslim-Americans.
To be clear, SABANY does not take issue with the Committee’s right or ability to conduct the Hearings or with the Committee’s necessary and proper task of investigating homegrown terrorism. Nor does SABANY suggest that the Hearings are equivalent in degree to the internment of Japanese-Americans, the McCarthy hearings, or the centuries-long prejudice against African-Americans. However, by narrowly targeting Muslim-Americans, the Committee’s Hearings perpetuate the stereotype that Muslim-Americans, by virtue of practicing Islam, are more likely to commit acts of terrorism As a factual matter, this assertion is belied by the religious backgrounds of the various Americans who have committed heinous acts of terrorism over the past decade. As a legal matter, the Constitution prohibits singling out Americans for heightened scrutiny based upon their faith.
Most importantly, the Committee’s hearings risk propagating the very type of violence they seek to prevent. After all, in the year following September 11, 2001, the FBI reported a 1,600 percent increase in hate crimes against Muslims. As late as 2005, “the numbers of anti-Muslim hate crimes remained five times what they were in 2000.” Just last year, Ahmed Sharif, a Muslim taxi-driver from Queens, New York, was slashed multiple times in a crime motivated by the assailant’s hatred for his religion. Unfortunately, this anti-Muslim rhetoric is not an isolated incident, nor is it unique to New York. Multiple states currently seek to pass bills criminalizing the practice of Islam. Mosques in several states have been the targets of arson. And recently, in Orange County, California, protesters engulfed Muslim-Americans attending a charity event with hateful, threatening, and disparaging speech. Surely, the Committee abhors religiously-motivated violence that targets a minority group of Americans. Yet, its insistence upon holding hearings that tar a minority group with anti-American sentiment legitimizes for many Americans the notion that such violence against Muslim-Americans is acceptable.
Homegrown terrorism is, and must be, of utmost concern to the Committee. However, the Hearings risk turning a proper investigation of terrorism into an unfair demonization of the Muslim-American community. Rather than singling out Muslim-Americans as security threats, the Committee should conduct a broad-based, objective investigation into the causes of homegrown terrorism while simultaneously investigating and seeking to eliminate the ongoing and ever-increasing numbers of hate crimes against Muslim-Americans.
Thank you for your attention to these issues, and we look forward to hearing from you to further discuss them.
Sincerely,
South Asian Bar Association of New York
cc: The Honorable John Boehner
The Honorable Nancy Pelosi
