Less than a month after the controversial hearings held by Republican Congressman Peter King of New York titled, 'The Extent of Radicalisation of American Muslims and the Community's Response,' an influential US Senator has scheduled a hearing on the 'Civil Rights of American Muslims.'
The hearings held by King were assailed as 'McCarthyist' by civil rights groups, including Indian American and South Asian organisations, while others accused King of being an Islamophobe and a bigot.
Democratic Senator Richard Durbin of Illinois, who is the assistant majority leader, announced that he would hold these hearings to explore the violation of civil rights of American Muslims before the newly minted Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Human Rights, which Durbin chairs.
In scheduling the hearing, to be held on March 29, Durbin said, "Our constitution protects the free exercise of religion for all Americans," and noted, "During the course of our history, many religions have faced intolerance."
Thus, he argued, "It is important for our generation to renew our founding charter's commitment to religious diversity and to protect the liberties guaranteed by our bill of rights."
Durbin's office in a statement said, the hearing was, 'in response to the spike in anti-Muslim bigotry in the last year including Quran burnings, restrictions on mosque construction, hate crimes, hate speech, and other forms of discrimination.'
It said the hearing would 'consider measures to protect the civil rights of American Muslims.'
Aides to Durbin denied that the hearing was a direct response to King's hearing, which were deemed anti-Muslim and as an effort to stereotype and demonise one particular minority group in the United States.
One aide told rediff.com that Durbin had decided to hold this hearing when the new 112th Congress convened in late January since he was "troubled by the anti-Muslim rhetoric, hate crimes against the Muslim community here in our country and the discrimination that Muslim groups were facing in getting zoning licenses and other permits to build mosques as part of the free exercise of religion which is enshrined in our Constitution."
Billed to appear as witnesses at the hearing, were, a leading Muslim civil rights leader Farhana Khera, Cardinal Theodore McCarick, Assistant Attorney General Tom Perez, the Obama administration's point man for civil rights, and former assistant attorney general Alex Acosta, who was the Bush administration's top civil rights official.
The new subcommittee was formed by merging the erstwhile Constitution Subcommittee and the Human Rights and Law Subcommittee, which Durbin had previously chaired.
The subcommittee has jurisdiction over all constitutional issues and all legislation and policy related to civil rights, civil liberties and human rights.
