ABFFE Protests Islamic “Radicalization” Hearings

The American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression (ABFFE) has joined with more than 40 free speech, civil liberties, and civil rights groups in a protest against plans by the House Homeland Security Committee to investigate the threat of Islamic “radicalization” in the U.S.

In a letter to the committee’s chair, Rep. Peter King (R-NY), the groups criticized the hearings, set to begin on Thursday, March 10, as an unwarranted attempt to blame Muslim religious ideas for the threat of terrorism.

“By focusing on allegedly dangerous ideas, Congressman King may repeat the mistake of the House Un-American Activities Committee in the 1950s, which ran roughshod over the First Amendment right of Americans to say what they want, even when it is unpopular,” said ABFFE President Chris Finan.

The groups’ letter acknowledges King’s First Amendment right to express his opinion, but it argues, “Congress simply has no business examining Americans’ religious or political beliefs in official hearings.... It would be inappropriate and unwise for Congress to conduct an inquiry into the nature of Islam, the different interpretations of faith among Muslims, whether there exists an ‘an ideology’ of ‘political Islam,’ or whether some Muslims are more loyal Americans than others, just as it would be inappropriate for Congress to examine different interpretations of Christianity or debate whether Baptists or Catholics are more trustworthy.”

Other signatories on the letter include the American Civil Liberties Union, the American Library Association, the American Association of University Professors, the National Coalition Against Censorship, and People for the American Way.

 The letter may be read in full on the ABFFE website.