Speak Out Against Anti-Muslim Bigotry

As U.S. Congressman Peter King of New York chairs the House Homeland Security Committee hearing on “The Extent of Radicalization in the American Muslim Community and That Community’s Response,” he will have to compete against the raised voices of Americans of all religious, racial, and ethnic backgrounds and from all walks of life who are speaking out against the targeting of the Muslim community by taking the WhatUnites.Us pledge:

Whether for political gain or public notoriety, anti-Muslim rhetoric and bigotry has become acceptable in political and civic discourse. That’s not America. Today, I am taking a stand for what unites us as Americans—freedom, truth and fairness—and against the type of fear-mongering that seeks to divide us.

Check out the WhatUnites.Us website for live blogs and tweets from the hearing, and for videos of Reverend Welton Gaddy of the Interfaith Alliance, Farhana Khera of Muslim Advocates, and comedian Dean Obeidallah inviting others to join the growing movement of concerned individuals uniting to support American values and oppose intolerance and injustice.

Also check out Rethinking Radicalization, a thought-provoking report from the Brennan Center for Justice that poses the question, “Can a community simultaneously be treated as suspect and also be expected to function as a partner?”