Last update: March 8, 2011 - 8:29 PM
Courtesy Of "The Minneapolis Star Tribune"
On Thursday, U.S. Rep. Peter King, R-New York, will convene a congressional hearing on, in his words, the "radicalization" of the American Muslim community.
He'll do this despite appeals from religious leaders, civil liberties groups and editorial boards from around the country to cancel it or at least expand its focus.
These hearings will promote fear-mongering while showing total disregard for the vulnerability of Muslims.
But they will serve a useful role to some: They'll drum up anti-Muslim fears as part of a larger, partisan strategy with electoral ambitions
In response to critics, King is waving the flag of "political correctness" in a thinly veiled attempt to deflect responsibility for abusing his power as chairman of the Homeland Security Committee.
In the wake of last summer's much-promoted (though ultimately canceled)Qur'an burning in Florida and subsequent acts of anti-Muslim hate, American Muslims are afraid of what might happen to them after these hearings.
They will listen from a place of voicelessness and powerlessness in a climate that is anything but safe.
Encouraging Americans to view their fellow Americans who practice Islam as a threat to the nation has become a familiar refrain since the announcement of the hearings.
Recently, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich compared Muslims to Nazis.
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabeesaid that Islam is the "antithesis of what Jesus preached," and U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota's Sixth District has characterized Muslims as being unable to assimilate into Western society.
In a 24/7 news cycle that offers a constant platform for such bigotry, it's hard for anyone to escape the messages. Especially children.
These messages are filtering into family rooms and, eventually, into schools, where kids not only echo what they hear but amplify it with a vitriol that would make us cringe.
Make no mistake: Fear-mongering toward an entire group inspires bullying, fistfights on playgrounds and beyond.
It provides a target for the mentally unstable and emotionally disturbed who are willing to take dramatic actions, as we have seen tragically occur in Arizona.
It also coarsens our humanity to the plight of vulnerable Muslims in need of services in our community.
Minnesota has long served as a refuge for victims of political oppression and tyranny. Catholic and Lutheran organizations throughout our state have helped these victims -- particularly children.
Many of the victims fled to America as refugees from parts of the world (like East Africa) where they had witnessed horrors most Americans can only imagine: rape, mass killings, starvation.
But the promises of our great nation ring hollow for these kids -- instead of a civil debate, they hear a chorus of anti-Muslim attitudes. They don't see Muslims given a platform but hear false accusations by anti-Muslim "experts."
The result is not surprising. These children are ashamed to admit to their classmates that they are Muslim, leading to anxiety, self-hatred and severe depression.
I see the effects of the constant, destructive comments about Islam in my engagement with social workers, mental-health professionals and others who help school-age children in Minnesota.
Members of Congress need to know that if they continue to use anti-Muslim rhetoric and ungrounded federal investigations of our faith community, they may be creating a bigger problem in cities like Minneapolis and others across the nation; they risk increasing the marginalization of Muslim youths who are already taunted on a daily basis with names like "terrorist," and worsening the mental-health burdens of our states and cities.
Some non-Muslim youths might even resort to violence, as we saw happen last summer against a Muslim taxi driver in New York.
Homeland Security Committee members like Chip Cravaack of Minnesota's Eighth District need to know that the framing and focus of these hearings are wrong and corrosive.
Instead, they should work closely with Muslims to initiate a restorative dialogue that protects all parties and opens doors for Muslims to take a leading role across the country in teaching youths of all faiths against extremism in general.
Currently, the climate is such that kids won't attend mosques because their association with being Muslim heightens their sense of stigma and being an outsider.
This saddens and worries me, since research has shown that mosques play an important role in teaching about the true, peaceful nature of Islam. Members of Congress must know that these hearings will marginalize not just American Muslims but the most vulnerable members of our communities: Our youth.
Fedwa Wazwaz is cofounder of the Islamic Resource Group, an outreach organization that seeks to build bridges of understanding through education between Muslims and the greater Minnesota community. She also leadsEngageMN.Com, a program to foster dialogue between Muslims and non-Muslims.
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