March 2011

The scene at the Capitol on Wednesday was remarkable, as Republicans hastily called a special joint legislative committee into session to pass the amended bill and then ignored the protests of the lone Democratic member of the committee as he asked repeatedly what exactly they were voting on. Serious questions about the legality of the committee action were left in the wake as Republicans gaveled the 15-minute meeting to a close and then quickly walked across the Capitol to take the bill up on the floor of the Senate, where it passed 18-1.

In the meantime, the Senate Democrats, who upon getting word of the Senate action had literally jumped in their cars to head back to Madison, pulled up short of the Wisconsin-Illinois border to decide their next move. Crowds gathered in downtown Madison as word spread via Facebook, Twitter and text message about what was taking place at the Capitol. By the time the Senate vote was over, the crowds had grown so large that the Republicans had to be escorted from the chamber by armed police officers. On Thursday, protesters attempted to prevent the state Assembly from taking up the amended bill by blocking access to the chamber, but were eventually removed by state troopers. The Republican-controlled Assembly then passed the amended bill late in the day with all Democrats voting against it.

Haynes, the First Amendment Center's Religious Freedom Education Project director, knocks King's Homeland Security Committee hearing supposedly examining a "radicalization" of American Muslim communities, saying it fails to address a serious issue while stirring more misunderstanding and unwarranted fears of Muslims.

Noting that King has tried to "tamp down anxiety" about the hearing, Haynes says he "keeps repeating an unsubstantiated allegation that ‘over 80% of the mosques in this country are controlled by radical Imams.' And he claims that many American Muslim leaders ‘acquiesce in terror or ignore the threat.'"

Haynes continued:

With King's imam-bashing as the starting point, it's not surprising that American Muslims - as well as many Americans of other faiths - worry that congressional hearings will be used to further conflate terrorism and Islam in the public imagination.

It's already getting ugly out there.

Last week video images surfaced of angry hecklers in Orange County, Calif., shouting ‘terrorists go home' and other insults to American Muslim families attending a fundraiser last month to fight homelessness and hunger. Small children can be seen huddled close to their parents as they navigate through shouting protesters and ugly signs to get in and out of the building.

U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison testifying at today's hearing slammed King's sweeping hearing as undermining the nation's efforts to combat terrorism.

Ellison (pictured) said, "It is true that specific individuals, including some who are Muslims, are violent extremists. However, these are individuals - but not entire communities. Individuals like Anwar Al-Aulaqi, Faisel Shazad, and Nidal Hasan do not represent the Muslim American community. When their violent actions are associated with an en entire community, then blame is assigned to a whole group. This is the very heart of stereotyping and scapegoating, which is counter-productive. This point is at the heart of my testimony today. Ascribing the evil acts of a few individuals to an entire community is wrong; it is ineffective; and it risks making our country less secure."