Will American Islamophobia Lead to a Modern ‘Spanish Inquisition’?

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

The Christian Taliban zealots who espouse the belief that America was founded as a Christian nation — it was not, the Founding Fathers intended strict religious neutrality with the First Amendment — and who would apply a Christianity religious test not just to elected officeholders — in violation of the U.S. Constitution — but to all Americans as a condition of citizenship, are about to greatly escalate their Islamophobic histrionics over the Park 51 Muslim Community Center "controversy" in New York last year.

Rep. Peter King (R-NY), chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, has scheduled hearings on “The Extent of Radicalization in the American Muslim Community and that Community’s Response” to begin March 10. No doubt, FAUX News Fraudcasting has an entire package of programing already in the works built around these hearings. Will American Islamophobia lead to a modern "Spanish Inquisition":

King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile established the Spanish Inquisition in 1478. In contrast to the previous [heretical] inquisitions, it operated completely under royal authority, though staffed by secular clergy and orders, and independently of the Holy See… It targeted primarily Muslims (Moriscos or secret Moors) and Judaism (Conversos and Marranos) — both groups still resided in Spain after the end of the Islamic control of Spain — who came under suspicion of either continuing to adhere to their old religion or of having fallen back into it.

The Inquisition was originally intended in large part to ensure the orthodoxy of those who converted from Judaism and Islam. This regulation of the faith of the newly converted was intensified after the royal decrees issued in 1492 and 1501 ordering Jews and Muslims to convert or leave. (Painting by Pedro Berruguete – Saint Dominic Presiding over an Auto-da-fé (burning at the stake) circa 1495).

This is what this is really all about, isn't it? Christian Taliban zealots have been equating all Muslims (an estimated 1.5 billion worldwide) with terrorism in the right-wing noise machine since 9/11, despite the best efforts of President George W. Bush to prevent this insidious slander of an entire religion from taking root in the minds of Americans. (To his great discredit, George W. Bush declined to speak out on the Park 51 "controversy").

This is all about questioning the "Americaness" and loyalty of American citizens and to stigmatize and demonize this religious group as "terrorists" based solely upon their religious faith. "Convert or leave my Christian nation" — it is as old as the Spanish Inquisition.

Rep. King's hearings, ostensibly about America’s terrorist threats, are narrowly targeted only to Muslims. King has refused to broaden the investigation into other well-documented domestic terrorist groups, like the “Sovereign Citizen” movement. Radical Islamophobe Activist Advising Rep. Peter King Explains His ‘Muslim Messenger’ Strategy:

In fact, King has promoted his hearings in the media with inflammatory rhetoric, declaring there are “too many mosques” in the country and that Muslims aren’t American when it comes to war.

King said he originally planned to invite only Muslims to testify about the threat of American Muslim radicalism. To hear more about this strategy, we spoke to “radical Islamophobe” activist Brigitte Gabriel at the 2011 CPAC conference. Gabriel, profiled in the New York Times today, has pushed a campaign of excluding Muslims from public office, blocking the construction of mosques, and legislating bans on communities practicing Sharia. In February, Gabriel’s anti-Muslim group “ACT! For America” co-sponsored a hate rally captured on video by CAIR.

In a candid interview, Gabriel told us that King intentionally avoided hosting well known anti-Muslim activists like herself or Robert Spencer for the hearings. Instead, Gabriel said King decided to use Muslim witnesses because then the media “cannot attack the Muslim messenger.”

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Also during the interview, Gabriel declared that “Glenn Beck is right” about his theory that pro-democracy protests in the Middle East and Egypt are part of Muslim Brotherhood conspiracy to create a global caliphate.

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Gabriel explained to us that she consults King and his staff regularly on Muslim issues. In fact, when Gabriel’s new anti-Muslim television show debuted earlier this year, King was the first guest.

Despite his media savvy “Muslim messenger” approach, King cannot hide his ties to bigoted figures like Gabriel or their toxic ideas.

Some in the media have compared Rep. Peter King to Sen. Joe McCarthy and his "red baiting" House Un-American Activities Committee in the 1950s, and not without good cause. Politico reported that Rep. Peter King (R-NY) worked with Sen. Joe McCarthy's (R-WI) counsel when King was a young lawyer. McCarthy counsel Roy Cohn, who helped prepare for the senator for his witch hunt hearings, later worked at the firm Saxe, Bacon & Bolan with King.

Fortunately, not everyone in Congress is a raging Islamophobe religious bigot like Rep. King. 28 House Members — And Counting — Oppose King’s Radicalization Hearings:

Already, hundreds of faith leaders in King’s district and in California have asked him to cancel the hearings. Protests at his district office and in Times Square have drawn hundreds of demonstrators, and one member of Congress who spent time in a World War II-era Japanese-American internment camp has pleaded with King not to “divide or target Americans simply on the basis of their faith or ancestry.”

 Now, more lawmakers on Capitol Hill are speaking out. Twenty-six House members have signed onto a letter being circulated by Reps. Pete Stark (D-CA) and John Dingell (D-MI) that expresses “[deep concern] that the stated narrow scope and underlying premises of these hearings unfairly stigmatizes and alienates Muslim Americans.” The letter, a copy of which was provided to ThinkProgress, asks King to “reconsider” the hearings:

Dear Chairman King:

We are writing regarding the Homeland Security Committee’s upcoming hearings, which you have stated will focus exclusively on radicalization among Muslim Americans and homegrown terrorism. We agree that Congress and all levels of government have a duty to protect America from terrorism, whether from abroad or homegrown. We are, however, deeply concerned that the stated narrow scope and underlying premises of these hearings unfairly stigmatizes and alienates Muslim Americans. We ask that you reconsider the scope of these hearings and instead examine all forms of violence motivated by extremist beliefs, rather than unfairly focusing on just one religious group.

We believe that the tone and focus of these hearings runs contrary to our nation’s values. Muslim Americans contribute to our nation’s wellbeing in many professions including as doctors, engineers, lawyers, firefighters, business entrepreneurs, teachers, police officers and Members of Congress. Their hard work helps to make our country exceptional.

Furthermore, casting a negative light on an entire community — rather than focusing on actual dangerous fringes will only strain community relationships and trust that local, state and federal law enforcement agencies have worked hard to develop. Muslim Americans are an integral part of our larger American society and should be treated as such, not viewed with suspicion.

The choice between our values of inclusiveness and pluralism and our security is a false one.

If you wish to examine violent extremism, we ask that you do so by examining violence motivated by extremist beliefs in all its forms. Singling out one religious group and blaming the actions of individuals on an entire community is not only unfair, it is unwise– and it will not make our country any safer.

Sincerely,

Pete Stark John Dingell
Member of Congress Member of Congress

CC: Ranking Member Bennie Thompson

Signatures are still being collected until the close of business tomorrow. Current co-signers of the letter are Reps. Baldwin (D-WI), Blumenauer (D-OR), Chu (D-CA), Conyers (D-MI), Edwards (D-MD), Frank (D-MA), Fudge (D-OH), Grijalva (D-AZ), Gutierrez (D-IL), Hirono (D-HI), Holt (D-NJ), Honda (D-CA), Jackson (D-IL), Jackson-Lee (D-TX), Kucinich (D-OH), Lee (D-CA), McCollum (D-MN), McDermott (D-WA), Meeks (D-FL), Moran (D-VA), Polis (D-CO), Rush (D-IL), Schakowsky (D-IL), Scott (D-VA), Serrano (D-NY), and Waters (D-CA).